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THREE rugby league diehards will undertake one of Rugby League’s most important odysseys when they depart Australia for South America this weekend.
Travelling separately, Latin Heat Rugby League volunteers Rodrigo Millar, Carlos Astorga Gonzalez and Diego Arellano will be assisting grassroots Rugby League development in Chile and Argentina.
Their visits to the neighbouring nations will come ahead of the November 12-13 inaugural tri nations tournament between Argentina, Chile and Brasil, to be played at Miramar, south of Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires.
Rodrigo, Carlos and Diego will be assisting training sessions, delivering equipment, filming promotional material and liaising with domestic officials to offer advice and encouragement.
All three will be self-funded and taking the various journeys out of a deep love for rugby league.
Rodrigo (pictured above) is an accredited premiership-winning coach, whose sons Brad and Trent have been playmakers for the Australian-based Latin Heat, a team designed to encourage Latinos into the sport and develop a pathway to the World Cup.
Born in Chile, Rodrigo later grew up in Lakemba, Sydney as a Canterbury Bulldogs fan, but in recent years has also started supporting the Gold Coast Titans since settling in the Logan district.
Fellow Chilean enthusiast Carlos was born in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
His family came to Australia as refugees to escape civil conflict and settled in Mascot, which led to Carlos playing for South Sydney Rabbitohs junior development teams and supporting the Bunnies.
Carlos was the Latin Heat’s first fullback when the team was formed in 2013.
Last, but not least, Diego is a legend in Latino Rugby Leagues circles as a commentator, journalist and advocate for the growth of the game in Spanish-speaking nations.
A columnist for Rugby League Review magazine, he has previously worked for a newspaper in Buenos Aires and was one of the first people to promote Rugby League inside Argentina.
He is a modern-day Wests Tigers fan, having grown up supporting the Balmain Tigers.
All three pioneers will be carrying jerseys supplied by Greg Inglis’s former school, Wavell State High School, which has generously donated full kits for distribution.
Previously the Manly Sea Eagles NRL club supplied jerseys to help Rugby League development in Argentina, Brasil and Ecuador
Latin Heat’s sister-club in Brisbane, Wests Mitchelton Panthers, also sent a package of balls, boots and jerseys to new clubs in the south of Chile earlier in 2016.
A GoFundMe page is currently operating to try and raise funds so that UK-based referee and coach Juan Jasso can fly to Argentina and help adjudicate the tri nations tournament in November.
Bilingual Mr Jasso, who made global headlines after standing up to racists on a British tram following the Brexit poll, is an obvious choice for the officiating duties but needs assistance to make the flight.
The link to the GoFundMe page is
http://www.latinheatrl.com/2016/09/02/pioneering-trip-to-chile-and-argentina/
