I'm sure we can get to next World Cup

Joe Santamaria talks to Chile and Racing 92 hooker Diego Escobar on his international dreams

- Joe Santamaria

AFTER fulfilling his dream of reaching a World Cup in France, only to see that dream cut short through injury just days later, Chile hooker Diego Escobar is beginning to leave his mark in the country as he nears the conclusion of his first season with Racing 92.

He told The Rugby Paper: “I was desperate to make it to the World Cup. I knew that to be at my best I had to put my body on the line. When I tore my hamstring [against Samoa] I told everyone: this is why I made it to the World Cup - to give it everything.”

The prospect of reaching the World Cup for the first time would be enough motivation for most, but Escobar’s ran even deeper. When he ran out in Chile’s opener against Japan, he did so alongside his brother, Alfonso, as well as three other sets of brothers in Chile squad. Watching on from the stands was Escobar’s father, also named Alfonso, who had captained the national team for over a decade.

“Dad’s team came close to qualifying for 2003 but they didn’t make it. They beat the USA for the first time but Uruguay beat them and qualified instead.”

That Uruguay team were trailblazers in their own right, and featured a forceful front rower who would go on to carve out a career for himself in France. That was Pablo Lemoine, who also happens to be Escobar’s national team coach, and Escobar’s father was initially uneasy at the sight of a former rival taking charge of his beloved Chile.

“At first he wasn’t happy about it, but once he saw how much Alfonso and I respected Pablo, he was convinced.”