Combative Paraguayan second row Mariano Garcete, 26, is captain of club and country but has his eye on something greater.
“I watched Uruguay play France at a barbeque. When I play against these guys I hate them, but I was a Uruguayan that day,” Garcete told The Rugby Paper.
In a rugby world that feels trapped between the need for more opportunities for smaller nations and a reluctance to break up the major tournaments, Garcete's attitude to his fellow South Americans as they came close to a famous World Cup upset is extremely refreshing. It is difficult to imagine that Johnny Sexton, Jamie Ritchie, or Jac Morgan were cheering on England in their semi-final against South Africa with the same gusto.
Few would begrudge a proud Paraguayan like Garcete for feeling bitter as he watched his Uruguayan and Chilean counterparts live out his dream of playing at a World Cup. There is not even a hint of it.
He said: “We are all sons of the same system. We want their place for sure, but we are happy for them.”
Despite trailing Uruguay and Chile by 20 and 15 positions in the world rankings respectively, recent results at club level indicate the gap between the nations is rapidly shrinking. 13 of Uruguay's World Cup squad play for Peñarol and Selknam is home to fifteen of Chile's squad. Garcete's club, Yacare, have beaten them both in recent weeks, scoring ten tries in the process.
Yacare currently sit third in the Super Rugby Americas table and look on course to improve upon last season's semi-final appearance. When asked how he accounted for the team's improvement, Garcete reeled off three Ps: Paraguayans, Peman, and the process.
He added: “When we began in 2020, we had only one player from Paraguay in the squad. Now we have many.”
21 to be precise. The core group is now supplemented by foreign players rather than dominated by them and Garcete feels this has been a key reason for his side's development on and off the pitch. He is quick to heap praise on attack coach Ramiro Peman, formerly of the Argentine club, Jaguares. Under his stewardship Yacare have become the most proficient attacking team in the league, averaging 37 points per match over the first six games.
The final reason is the one he returns to again and again during our conversation There is an unwavering belief in the process his team is following, one with a scope far greater than just first team tactics. To Garcete, the process is as much about youth coaching and fan outreach as it is about lineout calls. European fans used to the endless debates around national eligibility, minimum cap requirements, and regional funding will no doubt view such unity of purpose with envy.
One of the most striking elements of our conversation is Garcete's absolute focus on the next steps. It was as though the invitation to reflect upon his journey thus far simply reminded him why he had set off in the first place. He knows full well that his Yacare team hasn't won anything yet and that their strong start will count for nothing if they don't back it up later in the season.
On the international stage, his side will play host to Brazil in July, with additional fixtures against Belgium and Hong Kong rumoured. As fellow developing nations such as Portugal and Spain will attest, the lack of regular elite opposition is a problem but Garcete would rather focus on the things he can control than bemoan things like schedules. It's important to trust the process after all.
As our conversation draws to a close, I ask where he hopes this journey will lead and he answers without missing a beat.
“The World Cup in 2027 is our goal,” said Garcete.
Garcete will be 29 when that tournament kicks off in Australia and would be in pole position to lead his country onto the world stage for the very first time. It is an ambitious goal for a nation like Paraguay, who have already come so far in the last few years.
Clearly, when he does eventually give himself permission to look back, Garcete will want to say that he went to the World Cup, not just that he beat those who did. For now though, despite every invitation to reflect on his achievements to date, he is only looking in one direction.
Written by Joe Santamaria
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