Oscar-winning actors, dictatorial satraps, great writers, famous guerrillas or future kings | Relief

Of the famous people who played rugby but made a living outside the sport, an XV could be drawn up that would include everyone from royalty to guerrillas to Presidents of the United States, Oscar-winning actors, TV chefs and dictators. satraps. Not everyone was going to be rude men with angry faces and with scars on their bodies as a memory of someone’s caresses. rival. In places like Scotland, Argentina and other countries, rugby is played mainly in high quality schools. standing or in universities full of smart people, where access is very limited.

Blue blood has been running through rugby’s veins for many years. In England, Prince Edward, brother of King Charles III, was a more than acceptable player at the elite Jesus College, Oxford.and his nephews William – heir to the crown – and Henry continued their tradition at the prestigious Eton College. Even the secular press became interested in rugby when he pursued his mother, Princess Diana, when it was rumored that she was romantically involved with former XV de la Rosa international Will Carling while they were both married. Something similar happened to cousin Zara Phillips when it was discovered she was having an affair with another English rugby star like Mike Tindall.

Remember, this is a figure Alexander Obolenskya cavalry officer of the Tsar’s Imperial Guard, belonging to the Rurik dynasty, who managed to escape Lenin’s wrath against everything connected with the royal family and go into exile in England. He made his debut in 1936 with the XV de la Rosa in a victory over the All Blacks.. Adventure flying prince Four years later it all ended tragically when the plane he was piloting for the Royal Air Force (RAF) was shot down in the Battle of Britain. In Spain, media specializing in the royal family, such as Monarquía Confidencial, even published that Felipe Juan Froilan de Marichalar y Borbón, the fourth member of the line of succession to the Spanish crown after his cousins ​​Leonor and Sofia and his mother Elena, wanted to try it with Cisneros, but he did not like the experience and abandoned it forever.

In the world of cinema, there are actors and actresses who took their first steps in rugby.

. Now only one has won an Oscar. It was a Spaniard Javier Bardemwho, before receiving the statuette in 2008, This is not a country for old peopleBefore his disappearance, he played for the El Carmen team and then for the Liceo Frances. They made him a pillar, and he did not conflict. He became vice-champion of Spain as part of the Madrid school and champion as part of the Madrid team.. He even wore a Spain jersey for the U16 team. Other famous actors such as Welshman Richard Burton and Englishman Peter O’Toole shared a hobby with Bardem; Not so with their film successes, because despite both being nominated for an Oscar eight times, they never won the award. New Zealand director and actor Taika Waititi also features on the list of Oscar-winning rugby players. won the 2020 award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit. As a young man he played for Poneke Club in Wellington.

There are actors who played at a good level, for example Irishman Richard Harris in historical Munster, agent 007 Daniel Craig in RFCC Hillake, New Zealander Russell Crowe and American Matt Damon. Others, however, soon abandoned rugby, like Dwayne. Rock Johnson, the Frenchman Gerard Depardieu or the man famous for his “Frankenstein” and other horror films, the Englishman Boris Karloff, considered one of the main popularizers of rugby in the USA. There is little or no truly accurate information about the practice of this sport by actors such as David Niven, Sean Connery or Charles Chaplin.. The big Daniel Cudmore came to Canada to play for the Vancouver team, although his brother Jaime, a Top 14 recruit at Claremont, had more success.

In Spain, People still remember Antonio Recines’ runs down the flank with the ball in his hand.. The Cantabrian came to play as a striker in the Honor Division for the defunct Madrid team CAU, with whom he lost the Santboyana Cup final. Another Spanish actor associated with the oval ball is Sergio Peris-Mencheta, who played in the ranks of the French Lyceum. The list of artists is completed by some Argentines, such as Julian Weich (graduates) or Chino Darin (San Isidro), son of Ricardo Darin.

But, Without a doubt, the most talked about Argentine rugby player since becoming a player is Ernesto Che Guevara, known by the nickname thermoblock. He wasn’t a big guy. Against. He was very malnourished and suffered from chronic asthma, so he always lived on inhalers and was forced to do breathing exercises daily. From his time with Estudiantes de Cordoba, he was remembered as a tough scrum-half in tackling.. Already in Buenos Aires, he signed a contract with San Isidro, a club that won the URBA tournament 25 times, and before retiring, he played three quarters in two other clubs: Ypora Rugby Club and Atalaya Polo Club.

The love of rugby among the world’s political class is reflected in various figures such as dictator Benito Mussolini. During his mandate, Il Ducci found in the values ​​of the sport a formula for its expansion, despite its marked Anglo-Saxon accent in the pre-war era. The discipline, which focused on true team play, camaraderie, physical development, and the values ​​of combat and loyalty, gained popularity among fascist youth in the 1930s. The fall of Mussolini’s regime slowed and even led to a decline in the number of rugby fans in Italy.

. In fact, it became a sport closely associated with fascism. Another dictator who used rugby to strengthen his regime was the Romanian Nicolae Ceausescu, under whose leadership the national team managed to defeat France.. Thus, rugby became a piece of propaganda, along with football or gymnastics, to make its residents proud and to try to project an image of normalcy to the outside world.

The United States has three former presidents who played rugby. John F. Kennedy of Harvard University; George Bush; at Yale University; and Bill Clinton in Oxford. In France, former President of the Republic Jacques Chirac played in the position of the second line, as well as number 8 in the Brive youth team. In England the list is longer. Includes characters such as the charismatic and anti-European Boris Johnson at Old Eton School or former Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Kirkcaldy High School. As an eccentricity, the figure of Uganda’s former satrap president Idi Amin is included. This dictator, who wanted to proclaim himself Emperor of Africa and during whose eight years of rule about 300,000 people died or disappeared, learned to play the second line at Sandhurst (England). Before devoting himself to politics, he worked in several clubs in Kampala.

Spain did not have a government president who played rugby, but there were ministers.. Better to say, minister. It’s about Isabel Garcia Tejerinaformer Head of Agriculture, Food and Environment (2014–2016), working in the industrial team of the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility Oscar Puente, like any good native of Valladolid, is a fan, although he has never done it. On the other hand, there are regional presidents and former vice-presidents with a rugby background, such as Fernando Clavijo from the Canary Islands and Francisco Igea from Valladolid.

In the Congress is the representative of the PNV, Aitor Esteban (Bilbao Rugby University), who, during his speech at the last session of the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez, used a large number of rugby expressions, which attracted the attention of other deputies. Something far from politics has already appeared on the list former Ciudadanos Tony Canto, who wore the jersey of Tecnidex de Valencia, the team that won the Division of Honor league championship in 1983.. Outside of politics, the love of rugby is already well known for chef Alberto Chicote, who shared his call-up with Bardem for the Madrid team.

Conan Doyle and Joyce, two great writers with a passion for rugby.

From literature, the names of the Scot Arthur Conan Doyle and the Irishman James Joyce stand out.. The author of the Sherlock Holmes saga, who played as a forward at the Edinburgh Medical University for several years from 1870, describes rugby in his autobiography. Memories and Adventures How “The best team sport where strength, courage, speed and resources are great qualities to pack into one game.”. IN Return of Sherlock Holmes tells the story of the disappearance of a Cambridge University rugby player on the night before a match against Oxford University. and in The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire shows that the famous Dr. Watson played as a striker for Blackheath, one of the best English clubs of the time.

As for Joyce, from an early age he considered himself a rugby fan, like Samuel Beckett. For those who have researched his life, author Ulysses He fell in love with rugby on April 14, 1923, when he attended a match between the locals and Ireland at Colombre Stadium (France).. They lost theirs, and Joyce, angry, decided to remember the names of all the players who entered the field. He even used irony to justify his presence in the game. “I had to go see the boys in the green shirts,” said the famous writer. This Irish defeat on French soil stung deeply because the island was in the midst of a political crisis to achieve independence from the United Kingdom. In fact, this was the last time they lost in France in the 1920s. Like any self-respecting rugby fan, Joyce was stunned to see the All Blacks with their haka in 1925 – a fact he chronicled in his comic novel. Finnegans wackAnd.

On an artistic and international level, as well as in relation to women’s rugby, Candice Orsini’s figure stands outknown for her participation in films such as CocoonDon Howard, or body snatchersand who competed in three World Championships representing the United States. Also on the list of actresses with a rugby background is Jessica L. Harbeck, who has starred in such works as real blood or AAmerican horror story after playing for several years as a defensive back at the University of Colorado. Canadian Miranda Kwok, known in Spain for her role as a doctor in the successful TV series. Emergencieswas a player in her hometown for the Toronto Saracens and then the Toronto Barbarians.. Another actress with a rugby background is American Rebekah Chowdhury, who took her first steps into the sport with an oval ball as an extracurricular activity.