Colombia"s "Toucan do" attitude - Total Rugby

 

Colombian rugby took great pride in the appearance of national team captain and centre Sebastian Mejia in the CONSUR XV that lost to Argentina last week.

But the South American country’s reputation as a burgeoning rugby nation extends way beyond their involvement on the international stage through the Toucans, the nickname of the senior men’s team. 

A highly competitive national club championship, featuring eight teams from six cities, has just concluded with Cats Medellin crowned champions. Next season there are proposals to extend the championship to include more teams and more fixtures.

This is all being underpinned by exciting developments at grass roots level, which have resulted in playing numbers trebling in the last four years, as Mauricio Enao Galeano, Technical Secretary of the Columbia Rugby Union explained to Total Rugby: “Colombian rugby has been experiencing a dramatic growth,” said Galeano. “In the past four years we have seen playing numbers increase from 4,500 to over 12,500 within the 24 regions of the country. 

“This has been especially noticeable at youth level. By introducing a programme called, ‘Play Rugby and be a Toucan’ the number of children taking part in the sport has increased to 3,000.”

Through its prized values of respect, discipline and teamwork, Rugby has helped open the eyes of thousands of youngsters to a different world beyond the entrenched social problems such as street crime and drug abuse that have hindered Colombia’s development in the past.

One new enthusiast is Jorge Ivan Carbajal. “Most of my friends play rugby and I’ve found a lot of support here which has been beneficial because it has kept me away from trouble,” said Jorge.

“Through rugby I had the chance to go to Venezuela for a rugby tournament where we finished third. We also went to South Africa to participate in a cultural exchange and it was really interesting because we learned all about the rugby culture there and how they live with rugby in their lives.”

The Colombia Rugby Union has recognised that the increase in playing numbers needs to be matched by improved facilities, and they have recently invested in a second synthetic playing surface in the Uraba region. 

The most recent Total Rugby TV show also featured Japan v Hong Kong RWC 2015 qualifier and the kick-off of the RWC trophy tour in Tokyo, Russia’s thrilling European RWC qualifier against Germany and a look back to their inaugural appearance on the Rugby World Cup stage in New Zealand in 2011 and a spotlight on leading referee Alain Rolland – all available to WATCH HERE

Article source: http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Bath-Rugby-duo-Nick-Abendanon-Paul-James-cited/story-20959446-detail/story.html

Colombia"s "Toucan do" attitude - Total Rugby