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Stockport RUFC Welcome Argentina U20s

Stockport RUFC Welcome Argentina U20s

Ray Bell7 Jun 2016 - 10:57
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https://www.stockportrugby.com

7000+ miles travelled, 100+ attendees of all ages , 40 steaks, 100+ burgers and sausages.... but one rugby family.

During the month of June, Stockport RUFC are proud to be the host Club for the Argentina U20 World Championship squad.

On a sunny May Bank Holiday Sunday, we were delighted to put on a special welcome ceremony for our guests from Argentina. The event was organised by Matt Langtree & team and included all the players and backroom staff from the Argentina Squad as well as representatives from the RFU and the Cheshire RFU. Stockport RUFC were represented by our Chairman & Committee Members as well as an enthusiastic group of young players, parents and coaches from the Mini & Junior sections.

The day kicked off with a meet and greet around the BBQ area - providing an amused audience for a frantic half hour getting the BBQs up to the required heat. The team were served up a hearty feast of steaks, kebabs, burgers & sausages supplied and cooked by Head BBQ Chef Richard Pimlott from J. Pimlotts Butchers in Cheadle Hulme. The challenge of feeding a hungry group of rugby athletes post training soon became apparent with the diminishing food supplies as some queued up for a third helping!

Amongst the Argentinian contingent was the legendary Carlos Ignacio Fernández Lobbe - a former Premiership player with Bath, Northampton and Sale Sharks. He is heavily involved in grassroots sport and he spoke fondly of his time training at Stockport in the early days with Sale, before they moved to their new training facility. He lived in Manchester for three years when he played for Sale and those memories were at the forefront of his mind on his arrival into the UK because it is 10 years since Sale beat Leicester to win the Premiership title for the first and only time in their history.

Dean Scofield, a former team-mate of Fernandez Lobbe's, has strong links with Stockport with Dean's wife Gemma part of the Mini and Junior Committee at the Club.

Post lunch, we then headed up to the club house for a medal ceremony. During the Ceremony, RFU representative Andy Leach presented a plaque to chairman Ged Gurney to thank them for hosting the Argentina U20's squad.

Ged thanked those from Stockport, in particular Matt Langtree, who helped organise the Welcome Event and expressed how pleased he was that Argentina had chosen the Cheshire club as their base for the next few weeks.

Argentina were presented with Stockport ties, a plaque and medals from the RFU for taking part in the tournament while Port received some Argentina ties and a Calabash Gourd that is used for drinking a traditional Argentinian tea like drink called Mate.

The Argentinian coach, Nicolas Fernandez Lobbe, reciprocated with his thanks on behalf of the squad and he spoke in particular about the significance of being based at Stockport Rugby Club. Despite the tremendous success of the national sides, rugby in Argentina is still an amateur sport run largely by volunteers and in clubs very much like the set up at Stockport RUFC. Coach Lobbe spoke about the fact that his squad were young men, far from home and it really meant a lot for his players to be based somewhere that, quite simply, felt like home. Those words reminded us of the unifying effect of our great game and the importance of grassroots clubs being at the heart of the sport.

The event concluded with the Argentinian Squad heading for their coach through a Guard of Honour formed by members of the Stockport Mini and Junior section with plenty of smiles, high fives and flag waving on show!

We wish our guests & new rugby friends all the best as they start their World Championship campaign against France today.

Vamos, los Pumitas!!

Ray Bell

PS Check out the album for all the photos from the day.

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Argentina U20s are in the North West for the 2016 World Championships along with sides from 12 of the top rugby playing nations from across the world. The games are played throughout the month of June at the Manchester City Academy Stadium and the AJ Bell Stadium. Further information can be found here

Helene Kinsler who is Stockport’s World Cup Ticket master was at the event to help promote ticket sales for the U20 World Championships and she is happy to assist with any ticket requirements

Further reading