"We will not lower our guard."

Oriol Colomer Benedí, captain of the rugby team Centaures de la Autònoma. He studies the last course of the Archeology degree and entered the Centaures three years ago, in the second year of his degree. On March 6th, the UAB rugby team was proclaimed champion of the University Catalonia Championship (CCU) in the men's phase.

11/06/2018

On March 6th, 2018, the rugby club Centaures de la Autònoma made history: the team qualified for the first time in the final phase of the University Catalonia Championship (CCU) of Rugby and, finally, it was proclaimed champion of Catalonia in the male phase.

During the days 6th and 8th of February took place the second phase of the championship of the CCU in the field of the Foixarda, Barcelona. The first day began the tournament of the women's category and, unfortunately, the Centaures, with two important players missing, were defeated in the last game against the University of Barcelona (UB). The following day, the male's team managed to qualify for the third day of the semifinals for the first time since Centaures was founded in 2003.

One month later, on Tuesday, March 6th, 2018, the men's team won against the University of Vic by 7 to 26 in the municipal field of Cornellà. This already marked another milestone in the history of the Centaures. But the main course came with the last game: the Centaures managed to proclaim champions of Catalonia with a result of 12 to 19 against a very tough opponent, the UB.

1) What does it mean to be a Centaure?

For me it is a pride to be a Centaure. It completely changes the way you understand university. It's about enjoying rugby, your teammates, university life ... We like parties very much and have a good time. For me it is this: to maximize the period you are in college, to practice a sport, to have a great time and to meet people from all the careers of the university.

2) How long have you been Centaure?

I entered the team three years ago, in second of the degree. The first year I was concentrated only in the academic life of the university, in the studies, and I was losing more of this "social" life that the university has. All the groups it has -we are one, but there are many-. I only knew people from my degree and, at best, from History or from a degree similar to mine. It was to when I joined the Centaures that I started meeting people from other totally different degrees such as veterinary or sciences and even people studying PhDs and masters. A new world opens up that you did not even know about at the university. You feel more integrated in the university and you also feel that you are taking more advantage of this period. It is true that studies are very important, but it is not the only thing in university, it goes far beyond the degree.

3) It is the first time since the team was founded in 2003 that the Centaures qualify for the semifinals and the final of the Catalonia University Championship. What have been the keys to face the semifinal? And in the end?

First of all we have been very lucky because this year new people have joined the team with a lot of individual talent, with great quality. And, in addition, these people who although came to try other years but then did not stay, this year we have managed to make them stay, to join the team and, therefore, they have been able to play at the officials. Once we qualified for the semifinals, we did a lot of work because although we had the raw material, we still needed to consolidate more as a team and that is achieved by working hard. The month before the semifinal and the final we increased the hours of training, we made viewing of matches, we were helped by specialists, including federated rugby clubs. It has been a combination of an innate talent and the hard work that goes with any sports practice.

4) What were the hardest matches that you faced during the CCU?

I remember especially the quarterfinals, which were against the Garrins of the University of Vic. It was a very tight match until the end. Until the last play, the last second, we were stuck to five points, and we suffered a lot. Obviously, the final and the semifinal are very difficult matches because any of the teams has a lot of quality, both individually and collectively, but maybe the semifinal was tougher for the points margin. The final section was quieter than these quarterfinals, and the final was also very hard against the UB because the difference was also five points.

5) You lost some teammates along the way. The women's team had two important losses in the last game against the UB. How do you deal with these situations?

It happens to us every year. Therefore it is something innate, we drag it always: it does not surprise us and we know what will happen to us. But yes, especially at the beginning of the course or when so many losses are combined in the same course, it is difficult to redo the equation of the team and make the team strong. It is not about the results, which in the end are important but it is not what defines us, but because of the life that you have within the team with your teammates and the strength that we do. At first it is difficult but, year after year, we return to finish in the same situation of good vibes on which the team is based and, at the moment, it works very well. It seems that we always go out and move on.

6) How did you celebrate your victory?

We celebrated it on Tuesday once the games were over. We went to celebrate at the bar of a friend of a player of the team and, since on Wednesday we had class, we did not exceed too much. And we already celebrated it as tradition is the Centaures, on Thursdays. First we made the team dinner, which we had always very well, and then we finished the party in Dresden.

7) And, now, what is your next goal? Will you lower your guard?

No, we will not lower our guard, far from it. The objective is to stay as high as possible in Spain. We know it is difficult, not only because of the very high quality of the teams that participate, but also because it is our first year in such championships, therefore, we do not know what we will find. However, we are looking forward to it, we are preparing it well, and we’ll see what happens.

8) What would you say to those people who are thinking about joining the Centaures?

Do not think about it anymore and come to try. It is a decision that will change your life. I always say that the best decision of the degree was to enter the Centaures and now I regret not having entered the first year, it is a lost year. They should come to try without commitment, if they do not like it nothing happens and if they like it, welcome. Everyone takes place in our team.

We train two days a week, Monday and Wednesday from 6 pm to 8 pm, a couple of hours. Everyone can follow the trainings with ease. We know that many people who come to the rugby team are people who have never played and, in fact, are oriented so that they are training, that are aimed at anyone. Even if you have never done sport, at first it costs a bit to follow it but you will quickly pick up the pace. We try to teach the basic concepts and have fun, which in the end is what it is all about: disconnecting two hours, having fun with your classmates and doing some sport.