They found out almost by chance, they arrived in Brazil and in two days they had already played against local teams, Uruguayans and even a German rival to finally get on the international podium. The Mineros club achieved a valuable third place in the “Rugby 5 Playa” in Rio de Janeiro, which adds to the numerous local successes in this modality.
The coach and player Diego Villegas commented that “a while ago the players made a directive for beach rugby and one of us saw on Instagram about Río Beach about two months ago. We said “now, let’s do it” and we began to move with sponsorship and thus pay for registration, travel, accommodation, food. That’s how this adventure began.”
There they encountered strong opponents and he explained that “the competition was tough, we didn’t know any team and we were 16 clubs divided into groups of 4. On Saturday we were against all Brazilians, we won at 3, and on Sunday we defeated a German team. A Uruguayan was the one that beat us, but for third place we beat another team from that country (MVCC club).
Of that great performance, he specified that “it was all super intense. We scored 42 tries and had only 15 against, that reflects what we did there, where we were the only Chilean club and the level was very high. In height, we were the shortest of all, but rugby is also a matter of head, desire and the good proposal we have in attack and defense.”
Brazil is a land of sports culture and he expressed that “the atmosphere reminded me of what is done in summer in Reñaca or Viña, where there is a sector for sports, with soccer, volleyball, soccer tennis. We were in Copacabana, with two fields and also women’s teams, many people playing and also visiting the spa and cheering on their teams, friends or relatives.”
Straight to the sand
This achievement is no coincidence. Villegas pointed out that “we are national champions of beach rugby 5 and now the Aruco circuit is also being played. The first date of the summer calendar was in Tomé and we were champions, just like last year. This Saturday (today) the second is played in Talcahuano (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), the 14th will be in Lebu, the 21st in Playa Blanca and the 28th in Quintero, the Nacional.”
Regarding the differences with traditional rugby, he warned that “rugby has many modalities, such as on grass, sand or snow and we are privileged that in Lota we have Playa Blanca. We played there 20 years ago, we are used to it.”
And the area where they come from also has a lot of influence. “The rest of the year is on grass, but in summer we go to the beach and our strength is, as they always say, that the miner never goes back, because his motto is always to triumph. This is a town of effort, sacrifice and passion. Our families transmitted that to us, that every sacrifice is rewarded, and that essence of the miner makes us be warriors playing rugby. Not only by going into contact, but also by being intelligent.”
The delegation was made up of 15 travelers, where 12 were players, 2 people from the technical staff and a family member from the squad. Villegas is a Physical Education teacher who graduated in 2013, who started with children’s rugby and in 2022 specialized in adult rugby. Mineros becomes strong in the sand and goes for more.
