In 2002, amid the economic and social crisis in Argentina , a group of ex- rugby players and coaches needed to do something.  They decided to form a small rugby school in the economically disadvantaged community of Virreyes ( Greater Buenos Aires) with the idea of bringing about change through the sport.   Three years later the Virreyes Rugby Club (VRC) trains 400 plus players ages 7-17 and has touched the lives of many more. 

Rugby was brought to Argentina by the English that came to build the National Railway in the 1800’s and since then has been played widely in the country.   Argentina was in fact the first non-former British colony to incorporate rugby into is sport’s culture. Currently there are just over 300 clubs-including Hindu, San Isidro Club(SIC) and CASI and around 25,000 senior players. The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed the “ Pumas”, is currently the top Rugby team in the Americas .   Rugby in Argentina remains amateur, though many star players have been recruited to European teams. As much as rugby has been embraced in Argentina it has never reached the level of popularity soccer has and remains essentially an elitist in its practice here.   With this reality in mind, the most basic goal of the the Virreyes Project is to bring rugby to youth who would otherwise not have contact with the sport.

T he founders of the Project believe the game of rugby is a great teacher of many important values such as self-discipline, solidarity, and triumph over adversity.   Unlike other team sports, rugby stresses the overall team rather than the individual player. Everyone has a role.   The game promotes tolerance and has proven to be an excellent vehicle for channeling violence. The formation of the club has allowed young people to confront social and economic differences from a position of self-respect and mutual understanding providing them an opportunity to learn from each other and overcome prejudice and exclusion. The social benefit of rugby does not end on the field. Educational values are promoted by conditioning the invitation of players on good performance at their respective schools.  Participation implies attention to other social matters such as health and nutrition as well as developmental concerns such as motivation and socialization.  The Club has formed strategic alliances with the government agencies and private foundations (e.g., CEMIC) to insure provision of a full spectrum of social and educational services to the community of Virreyes.  A generous grant has been provided to the Virreyes Rugby Club to provide scholarships to players that fulfill the necessary requirements.

Though far from reaching its total potential, the project has already improved the lives of hundreds of people, young and old.