Serafín Dengra (born

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, 21 September 1961) is a former Argentine rugby union footballer and manager. He played as prop and hooker 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 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, and Wests Bulldogs.

Career

Dengra, coming from a family of sportspeople (which also boasts a participation at

1928 Olympic Games 1928 Olympics may refer to: *The 1928 Winter Olympics, which were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland *The 1928 Summer Olympics, which were held in Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most po ...

). Dengra started to play rugby at 12 years when he was invited by some friends to see a match of women's field hockey of

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 ...

, he noted on the adjacent field some rugby players in training; he then, entered in the San Martín youth team, in whose main team he later debuted in 1978. When playing with his club, in 1982, Dengra debuted for the Argentina national team against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, as left prop, which was the position he played in all of his international career. In 1985,

Unión Argentina de Rugby The Argentine Rugby Union ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby, abbreviated "UAR") is the governing body for rugby union in Argentina. It is a member of World Rugby, with a seat on that body's Executive Council, and a founding member of Sudamérica Ru ...

suspended Dengra for six months due to him having moved to the Australian club Wests Bulldogs, which made him play for the Queensland representative team., due to a national regulamentation which sanctioned the players moving abroad, considered a form of masked professionalism in a sport which was still amateur. Returning in the national team in 1986, Dengra took part at the

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 ...

, entering into the field in two matches, against

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 ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

; he played his international last match in 1989, later, having accepted his move to

Rugby Rovigo stadium, 200px Rugby Rovigo Delta, formerly known until 2010 as Rugby Rovigo, is an Italian rugby union club currently competing in the Top10. They are based in Rovigo, in Veneto. The club was founded in 1935 by medical student Dino Lanzoni, wh ...

, being the first Argentinian player to play for Rovigo, the UAR suspended Dengra from the international activity for four years, which meant for Dengra to forsake definitively to the Pumas' jersey. Dengra also played for Bourgouin Jallieu, where he retired from his playing career in 1995. Currently he is the Sports Relations director of the gym chain Sport Club, he coaches an Over-35 team, the Pumas Classic and he occasionally dedicates himself to the practice of Rugby X-treme, a variant of rugby played on a snowy pitch at high altitude. Rugby X-treme en Chapelco con presencia de varios ex Pumas

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dengra, Serafín 1961 births Living people Argentine rugby union players Argentina international rugby union players Argentine rugby union coaches Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Australia Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France Rugby union props Rugby union players from Buenos Aires