Enrique "Topo" Edgardo Rodríguez is an Argentina-born Australian former rugby union player. Rodriguez retired from rugby union after having played at international level for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He was part of the Australian team in the 1984 Grand Slam tour of Great Britain & Ireland. He also represented the Wallabies at the inaugural

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

hosted by Australia & New Zealand. Rodriguez captained Australia against

Mendoza Province Mendoza, officially Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the republic o ...

in Argentina before retiring from international rugby in November 1987. He was also selected for the South American XV Jaguars in 1980, gaining four test caps against the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

. Rodriguez played tighthead prop, loosehead prop and hooker. After retiring from international rugby in 1987, he continued playing for his Sydney club

Warringah Warringah is a name taken from the local Aboriginal word for Middle Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It may refer to: *Division of Warringah, an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives created in 1922 *Electoral ...

before retiring in 1992. In 2006, A play called ''TOPO,'' written by Associate Professor Neil Cole, was shown at the Seymour Theatre Centre, Sydney in May–June 2007, portraying the "highs and lows of life" including his experiences of living with mental illness. In August 2012 Rodriguez self-published a book called "The Art of Scrummaging". Amongst his practical and technical knowledge, and philosophies on the subject of scrummaging, the book also presents the opinions of 27 collaborators (ex-international players, coaches and referees). It was awarded the IPP Gold Medal for authoring and publishing. In 2015, Rodriguez published an updated version including law changes introduced by the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

regarding the new 'engagement' Law sequence of the scrum, titled Rugby - The Art of Scrummaging II.

Early life

Rodríguez was born in Concordia, Entre Rios, on 20 June 1952. He studied Psychology at

Universidad Nacional de Córdoba Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

. He started playing rugby for the University team in 1971. Rodríguez initially played wing, centre, and five-eighth, then in the back row before finally moving to the front row. He went on to be selected for the Cordoba Province representative team in 1976. In 2012 the "Consejo Deliberante" of Concordia city bestowed upon Rodriguez the distinction of "Honorific Life Ambassador" for the city of San Antonio de Padua de la Concordia, for his distinguished career as a sportsman.

Career

Rodríguez played his first Test match for Argentina against New Zealand 1979, and his last Test match for the Argentine team was against Australia on 7 August 1983 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In March 1984, he emigrated with his family to Sydney, Australia. Warringah RFC organised his settlement in Sydney's Northern Beaches. Rodriguez played his first Test match for the Wallabies against Fiji on 9 June 1984 (barely 10 weeks after arrival) then a three-test series against New Zealand in Australia and the 1984 Grand Slam tour of UK and Ireland. In June 1986 he played his first test against Argentina, and also took part in the Bledisloe Cup-winning team in New Zealand. His last international for Australia was against Argentina on 7 November 1987, Buenos Aires. He was also capped for Tahiti against France in an invitational match to celebrate

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...

(14 July 1981). Other notable players that appeared for Tahiti were

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

' backs

Brett Codlin Brett William Codlin (born 29 November 1956) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A full-back, Codlin represented Canterbury and Counties at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks Th ...

Robert Kururangi Robert Kururangi (born 4 July 1957) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A Rugby union positions#Wing, wing, Kururangi represented Counties Manukau Rugby Union, Counties at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national ...

and

Tim Twigden Timothy Moore Twigden (born 14 May 1952) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A wing and centre, Twigden represented Auckland at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks The New Zealand ...

Career Highlights

* 1979 Argentina rugby union tour of New Zealand * 1979 Argentina tour of Australia * 1980

South American XV The South American XV (sometimes known as CONSUR XV and formerly as South American Jaguars) is a rugby union team made up from the national rugby sides in the Sudamérica Rugby (formerly CONSUR) rugby federation. The squad was first formed i ...

tour of South Africa. * 1983 Argentina rugby union tour of Australia *

1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland The 1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of eighteen matches played by the Australia national rugby union team (the Wallabies) in Britain and Ireland between 17 October and 15 December 1984. The Australian team won ...

* 1986 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand * 1990-91 Barbarian F.C. (UK) Centenary Tour. Rodriguez captained two times. * 1995 - Scrum & Forwards Coach of the Australian Under-21s tour of Zimbabwe and Argentina

Honours and awards

* 2000 - Australian Sports Medal, for services to Rugby Union * 2006 - Founder & CEO "BIPOLAR Education Foundation (2006–2013) * 2013 - IPP Gold Medal for publishing: The ART of Scrummaging * 2016 - Silver Medal for publishing: Rugby-The ART of Scrummaging II * 2018 - Cancilleria Argentina (DFAT) - Distinction for Services to Argentina and Arg Community in Australia * 2018 - Embassy of the Republic of Cuba - Certificate of Appreciation "Friendship with Cuba" Award

Clubs

Warringah Rugby Club Warringah Rugby Club is a rugby union club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales. Only located 25 km from the city centre, the club is close to many magnificent beaches, the Sydney Academy of Sport and Narrabeen Lake. T ...

1984–1992 *

Tala Rugby Club Tala Rugby Club, or simply Tala, is an Argentine rugby union and field hockey club sited in Córdoba Province. The rugby team currently plays in the Torneo de Córdoba, the first division of the Unión Cordobesa de Rugby league system. Tala is ...

, 1978–1984 * Universidad Nacional de Cordoba RC, Captain & Coach 1971–1977 * Cordoba Province Seleccion (1976–1983) Captain *

Barbarian Football Club The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...

1991 - vs. Scotland/Cork Constitution RC (Cork)/Old Wesley RC (Dublin)

Notes

References

External links

bipolar-edu.orgOfficial web sitetheartofscrummaging.comtalubooks.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Enrique TOPO 1952 births Living people Argentine rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Argentina international rugby union players Rugby union props Rugby union hookers People from Concordia, Entre Ríos Sportspeople from Entre Ríos Province 1987 Rugby World Cup players Warringah Rugby Club players