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Matiás and Alejo Corral are to join the select club of brothers to have played in a Rugby World Cup. Matías played for Argentina in Rugby World Cup 1995 while some twenty years later his younger brother, Alejo, will be playing for Uruguay.
As players they are comparable. Both left their mark in Buenos Aires playing for San Isidro Club as loosehead props but their World Cup experiences are different altogether. Matías played 17 tests for Argentina from 1993-1995 while Alejo debuted for Uruguay a decade later in 2005 against Portugal.
The family comes from Buenos Aires but Alejo moved across the Rio de la Plata while in his early teens. Playing rugby in the resort town of Punta del Este in Uruguay, Alejo established himself as a player with potential. Upon receiving an invitation he left the Los Lobos Marinos club in 1999 to play for Old Boys club in Montevideo.
Alejo was just 13 years old when he was living in Uruguay and his brother was playing for Argentina at the World Cup. He told ESPN Scrum Argentina “I remember that my mom wouldn’t let me miss class to watch the game against Samoa”.
Upon leaving Uruguay to study in Buenos Aires, Alejo joined his brother’s club and played alongside Juan Manuel Leguizamón, who is days away from playing in his third Rugby World Cup. Alejo has won URBA titles with the club in addition to having played as a professional in Italy.
Those quick to suggest Uruguay is no match for Australia, England, Fiji and Wales may be surprised to learn that Matías Corral was named in the 1995 World Cup Dream Team.
