Sale Sharks programme - 2021

F
rom
Tucuman
to
Tyneside,
Matias
Orlando’s
rugby journey has taken
some unexpected
twists and turns in
recent times.
The 30-year-old centre
has been capped 47 times
by Argentina, and was a
mainstay of the Jaguares
side which reached the
Super Rugby final in 2019
before Covid brought an
abrupt halt to everything.
Not just a pause – a
complete stop. Restore
factory settings.
“Jaguares joined Super
Rugby in 2015, which
meant playing against the
best sides from New
Zealand, Australia and
South Africa, and it was
absolutely amazing for
rugby in Argentina,” says
Orlando, the silky midfield
man who is on the
comeback trail from a
longstanding groin injury.
“Everything changed for the
sport in Argentina once we
were in Super Rugby - our
fan-base got massive and
the stadium for our home
games was absolutely
rocking. The first two years
was tough because we
played but didn’t do very
well, then we improved to
make the quarter-finals, and
in 2019 we played in
20
the final against the
Crusaders.
“Then came Covid, and it
was gone. It was paused to
begin with due to the
pandemic, but it never came
back. Jaguares just
disappeared. It was really
tough, because nobody saw
it coming. When you make a
plan for your life you think
that’s how it’s going to be,
and I was going to be with
Jaguares for the next few
years. All of a sudden that’s
taken away, and all of us
were left without a team.”
The stars of Argentinean
rugby suddenly became hot
property, flying out to all
corners of the world to
address their impromptu
free-agent status.
“Things happen in life and
you have to move on, and
I’ve now got this new and
unexpected chapter with
Newcastle,” says Orlando,
who had been a firm fixture
in the Jaguares team,
scoring twice in their 2019
semi-final victory over the
Brumbies.
“I’m here now, I’m enjoying it
and you just have to adapt
to situations. Out of
something bad can come
something good, and I have
no regrets about becoming
a Falcon.”
It is all so distant from his
upbringing in North West
Argentina, Orlando hailing
from Tucuman, where the
fertile agricultural land has
made it known as the
‘Garden of the Republic’.
A lot of
people
over here
think of
Argentina as
being mainly a
football nation,
which for a lot of
the country is
probably true, but
where i'm from in
Tucuman, rugby is
absolutely huge,”
explains the man
nicknamed ‘Tosti'.
“They go crazy for
the game, and it’s
really important for
them. I played rugby
fromthe age of three,
because my family
were involved with our
local amateur club,
Huirapuca. My father
played there, my sister plays
in the front-row for them and I
grew up wearing their green
and red colours.
“I grew up with rugby players
as my heroes, and had their
posters on my wall. One of
the guys from my club who
played for Los Pumas, our
national side, was Jose Maria
Nunez Piossek, who played
over here for Bristol and
Glasgow, as well as a couple
of clubs in France. Tristan
Molinuevo was another who
played fly-half for my club and
for Tucuman province, and I
looked up to those guys.
Tristan only played amateur
rugby but he’s a legend in
Tucuman, and really showed
me the way when I was
coming through."
Progressing through the
@FalconsRugby