2023-09-25 04:15:00
Asturias, a region with few rugby clubs and even fewer women’s teams, is exporting high-level players who are reaching some of the best clubs in Spain, the Spanish national team and even attracting attention outside the country.
A good example of this are Carla Méndez, Paz Marín, Kasandra Sylla, Águeda Pis, Clara Piquero y Paula Garrido, who share the same passion: that of playing rugby, something that all of them have managed to do at the highest national level. «The most valuable thing is that it is a sport that educates you, you learn more things apart from the sport; “It has changed my life,” explains Kasandra Sylla (Cangas del Narcea, 24 years old), new player for the French Lyon Lou. Carla Méndez (Navia, 20 years old), for her part, highlights certain values of this sport: «Respect for the referee and the opponent prevails; Furthermore, the team becomes your second family. Along these same lines, Paz Marín (Oviedo, 21 years old), highlights “the atmosphere and the people you know.”
The six players mentioned left Asturias and managed to grow in rugby. Although each personal story is different, all six coincide in their beginnings, during adolescence, in Asturias. Kasandra started in Cangas del Narcea 11 years ago, when two boys promoted the sport at her school: «They encouraged me to try and I loved it. From that moment on I never stopped practicing it. She progressed, she signed for Crat de La Coruña and then spent five years at Universitario de Sevilla, two Honor Division clubs. A growth that has taken her to nothing less than the Spanish national team: “It is the work and sacrifice of many years,” explains Sylla, who now faces the challenge of playing in France, a country where this sport is almost a religion and where is celebrating the men’s World Cup.
In Carla’s case, she started in Navia, when she was 12, due to the influence of her brother: “I played with 40-year-old men, the youngest on the team was my brother, six years older than me.” In his second year of high school he settled in Belenos, Aviles, and the following year, at the age of 18, he went to El Salvador de Valladolid, where they were promoted to the Honor Division in their first year and where they are about to begin their third season.
Paula Garrido (Gijón, 18 years old) has just landed in El Salvador, which will be her first experience in the highest category of rugby after becoming European runner-up this summer with the Spanish under-18 team, leaving Gijón Rugby, where it started four years ago. Same club where Clara Piquero, 24, also from Gijón, started. “The level was regional, it was more social than competitive rugby,” says Piquero. When she left Gijón, she headed to El Salvador and she also achieved promotion to the Honor Division. El Salvador was her last team before leaving for France, ending up first in Bayonne and then in her current team, the Lons Section Paloise of the French First Division. “Here, in France, the rise in level is very noticeable because there are twice as many players even in the smaller teams and they start playing at a young age.”
Piquero has already played eight rugby matches with the senior Spanish team. The call came after playing his second U18 European Championship and his most immediate goal is to reach the 2025 World Cup, with the difficulty that qualification entails. However, Clara looks to the future with caution: “Right now I am focused on enjoying the rugby process.”
Águeda Pis, 19 years old, will face her third year in Eibar, in the Honor Division. “The level in Asturias is not comparable with what is here, it is a very big leap.” The Asturian (Soto de Llanera) started at All Rugby in Llanera, where they were able to form a women’s team with the help of some mothers, including hers: “My mother became a fan and still plays today,” she explains. Her change came when it was time to continue with higher studies, for which she chose the Basque Country. Eibar helped her maintain her studies and gave her the opportunity to experience the highest category, in which Águeda had to make an effort to adapt to the added difficulty of the game.
Rugby runs in the family for Paz Marín. Her sister played it since she was a baby and she was encouraged to try it seven years ago in Llanera. Currently, 21 years old, she resides in Santiago, where she works, studies and plays rugby. Her experience in the Honor Division materialized in the Crat, during a season, when she lived in La Coruña and had to make multiple trips to Santiago to balance studies and social life. That pace of her life did not make her enjoy it, so she finally decided to move her entire life to Santiago, assuming not to continue in the Crat. From her experience in the Honor Division, her difficulty also stands out: “At the game level it was difficult for me to adapt, but you learn a lot.”
When they are asked about the situation of rugby in Asturias, they are clear. Carla points out that “there is a lack of people to play rugby, especially girls, it is a very dispersed place where many sports coexist.” Paz indicates that “some teams in Asturias do not even reach the minimum number of players and therefore the teams should cooperate with each other.” Along the same lines as Paz is Clara Piquero, who points out that the Asturian clubs “should join forces” to create something bigger. Finally, Águeda points out that the low level in Asturias is due to the “lack of competition” and adds that more people need to get involved and want rugby to rise.
#talent #Asturians #oval #ball #explodes