Matías Corral (born August 10, 1968) is a former Argentine rugby union player. He played as a prop. He played in First Division for the

San Isidro Club San Isidro Club (mostly known for its acronym SIC) is an Argentine sports club based in the Boulogne Sur Mer district of Greater Buenos Aires. The club has gained recognition due to its rugby union team, being one of the most successful clubs of A ...

(SIC ) between 1988 and 1995. World champion with Los Pumitas under-19, in the World Cup 1987 and Puma from 1992 until his retirement after the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

, held in South Africa where he was honored as the best left prop of the world Cup that year, the only Argentine joined the Dream Team. Also, along with

Patricio Noriega Patricio Noriega (born 22 October 1971, Argentina) is a former Argentine rugby union footballer who played prop. He started his career in local club Hindu and had his test debut for Los Pumas in 1991 against Paraguay. After playing two Rugby Worl ...

and Federico Mendez, they were named as the best first line of the world. He is the older brother of

Alejo Corral Alejo Corral (born September 11, 1981) is a rugby union player from Argentina who represents Uruguay at international level. He is the younger brother of Matías Corral, former player of the first XV of San Isidro Club between 1988 and 1995, and P ...

, current player of

SIC The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...

and Los Teros.

Sport career

Matías always played at the San Isidro Club, debuted in first division in 1988, forming one of the most memorable first lines, with Juan José Angelillo and Diego Cash. He joined the under-19 and 21 province selection of Buenos Aires and Los Pumitas. In 1992 he joined the university selection in the World Cup played in Rome where he finished in the second place. Also in the same year, he represented the Senior Selection of Buenos Aires. In 1993, plays his first Test-Match with

Los Pumas The Argentina national rugby union team (Spanish: ''Selección de rugby de Argentina'') represents Argentina in men's international rugby union; it is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby). Nicknamed the Pumas ...

, in the victory against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Of the 17 test matches played, he won 8 and lost 9. Also, in 1993, with Buenos Aires Selection, he was part of the team who beat the Springboks 28–27, being one of the most valuable players of the match, which earned him a nomination for the Olimpia Award that year. In 1994 the prestigious Argentine journal Clarín, honored him as the best rugby player in Argentina. In 1995, he played his only World Cup, where

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 ...

showed a high level, despite all the previous problems, losing against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for 24–18, match in which the English could not score any tries. Then, came the losses against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where Corral score his only try in his short international career. Corral was recognized as the best left

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

of the World Cup. Then, after the Rugby World Cup, and rejecting offers to play in several of the best clubs of Europe and Oceania, he decided to study a master in marketing in Boston University, USA.

Honours

Local Titles

Provincial Titles

International Titles

Cups Details

Present

Corral, who always defined himself as "an athlete before a rugby player" makes his words do not die in the attempt. At the moment, when his has some free time as Country Manager of ZARA, he dedicate and prepares for marathons, but not just any marathon, he runs the

Ironman Iron Man, Ironman or Ironmen may refer to: *Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery (1939–1985), American caddie for Arnold Palmer *Travis Fulton (1977–2021), American mixed martial arts fighter *Gunnar Graps (1951–2004), Estonian musician *Mick Murphy ...

, one of the hardest disciplines, consisting of three stages: 3,8 km swimming, 180 km in bicycle and 42 km running until the end line. Matías has completed three Ironmans: Florida and the Rio de Janeiro in 2009 and China in 2010, where he recorded 1h.15m.52s., swimming, 5h.55m.11s, cycling and 4h.56m.01s., running, totaling a 12h.19m.28s time of pure activity without breaks or intervals. His training allowed him to get back together with several of his old friends from the national team by being part of the Pumas Classics Team in the World Cup in Bermuda in 2010.

References

External links

* :es:Selección de rugby de Argentina#1995-1999 * http://www.mundialxv.com.ar/nota.php?id=330 * http://sanisidroclub.com.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2358:entrevista-a-matias-corral&catid=81:entrevistas&Itemid=200076 * https://web.archive.org/web/20120426002034/http://www.tackledeprimera.com/articulo.php?id_articulo=193 {{DEFAULTSORT:Corral, Matias 1968 births Argentine rugby union players Argentina international rugby union players Rugby union players from Buenos Aires Rugby union props San Isidro Club rugby union players Living people 1995 Rugby World Cup players