I have a lot to thank my father for. I was doubting myself and thinking about giving up when the ‘growth spurt’ never materialised but he told me to remember that not everything in life is easy, sometimes you need to redouble your efforts. So, instead of going out to the pub with my mates, I worked on maximising my strengths, and thankfully, the hard work paid off.
In 1992, I made my debut for the San Isidro club, in Buenos Aires, aged 18. We had an incredible team with a lot of Pumas who I’d grown up watching. To show the quality we had, many of my team-mates had been in the side that drew with the touring Australians in 1987.
Playing for the Pumas looks quite an impossible task when you’re a kid, especially one as small as me, but suddenly you are playing for the first XV of your club, then you are called up to play for the Buenos Aires XV and then the national team. Before I knew it, I was on the plane to South Africa for the 1995 World Cup.
I’d made my debut against Uruguay only a couple of months earlier, so it was very unexpected. I was very young and didn’t know what was going on in South Africa or how big a deal it was for them to host the competition.
I was like a kid in Disneyland. Suddenly I was in a World Cup with all my idols. All the players of all the teams had a lunch together and I had my photo taken with Will Carling, Jeremy Guscott, Serge Blanco, Tim Horan, Scott Hastings, Philippe Sella, and David Campese…all my idols, all guys I had watched in 1987 and 1991 and I wanted a memento! I didn’t care how it made me look.
Denne historien er fra May 03, 2020-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra May 03, 2020-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
THE Cherry and Whites are the enigmas of the Premiership.
Looking to go one step beyond this time around
NE small step is what it will take for Bath to go one better than last season and secure the Premiership for the first time, but it would be one of the biggest taken by the club in the professional era.
Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
ENGLAND women opened the Allianz Stadium era at HQ with a victory over New Zealand to make it 17 wins on the bounce before their WXV title defence.
Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
HONEYMOON periods are not set in stone and in my estimation Steve Borthwick’s ends this summer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still in good shape.
Barrington ready to power up the Mob
RICHARD Barrington has signed up to the Ampthill “Mob” reassured that he’ll still have a target on his back most weeks.
Skivington keen to build identity
GLOUCESTER won their first trophy for nine years last season and reached the Challenge Cup final, but when George Skivington went on holiday the day after the campaign ended the words in his head were never again.
Roebuck targets England success
WINNING a maiden England Test cap to top the best season of his career will not be enough for Sale winger Tom Roebuck.
Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.