Unión Argentina de Rugby President Luis Castillo will be an interested spectator at the IRB Junior World Championship in the Litoral region of the country in June.

Castillo has been in charge of rugby in Argentina for little more than a month, but actually still thinks of himself as a coach, the 61-year-old having had a long and prolific career at three levels.

Hailing for the northern province of Tucumán, he started playing rugby at centre for Club Natación y Gimnasia and then moved to Los Tarcos, playing there until his retirement in 1979. Far from abandoning the oval ball game, though, he became a coach leading his club in three periods, from 1979-83, 1992-96 and 2001-02.

A provincial player from 1966 to 1975, Castillo returned to the "orange" team as coach in its glory days. As one of three coaches with Manolo Galindo (today running the High Performance of the UAR) and Alejandro Petra, Castillo was in charge from 1981 to 1991, a period in which Tucumán won the National Provincial Championship five times, breaking the Buenos Aires stronghold on the tournament.

His team was also competitive against international sides such as France, England, the All Blacks, New Zealand Maoris, Queensland and New South Wales as well as on tours to Australia and New Zealand and Europe. Nowadays, his son Lucho plays for the provincial side.

He also coached the Argentine Under 21 team in 1995 at the first southern hemisphere UAR/SANZAR tournament with Horacio Mazzini. That tournament was, really, the first Four Nations ever, although played by age group players, many of whom would end up playing test rugby.

Fond memories

"It is a tournament that is dear to me," explained Castillo in his new UAR office. "Being involved in the sport as a player or coach is the most enjoyable side of the game."

Amongst the many challenges lying ahead of Castillo and his Executive Council - IRB-funded High Performance plans, a team in South Africa's Vodacom Cup, confirmation of entry into Four Nations, Argentina Sevens to name but a few - the spotlight is on the IRB Junior World Championship that will be played in the Litoral region from 5-21 June.

"That team became bonded by the good relationship we all had, and many important Puma players started their careers there," recalled Castillo, highlighting current Puma coach Santiago Phelan and Gonzalo Quesada, the top scorer in RWC 1999, along with Ignacio Fernández Lobbe and Gonzalo Longo who played in the last three Rugby World Cups.

"Even though we lost the three games, we were very competitive." The Taine Randell-led New Zealand Colts only beat the Pumitas 24-19 in the final minutes, Australia beat them 33-5 - "but we lost Phelan and Quesada during that game and also had a player sent-off," Castillo recalled. The final outing was a 16-17 loss to South Africa, his side again having a player sent-off.

"I have very fond memories and looking towards this IRB Junior World Championship, I am certain that it is an important stepping stone for the future of our players," he explained.

"They are in a developmental stage and playing a World Cup is important. But playing it at home is even more important.

"Argentina has very good human resources. I consider last year's 11th place in Japan an accident. This year's team must aspire to a better final position and to continue playing amongst the elite of age group rugby."

Why attend the JWC?

The Under 20 World Championship starts will see 12 nations compete to prove their strengths in Rosario, Santa Fe and Paraná.

"It is very simple [why you should attend], because you will see the best U20 players in the world in an event that is a World Cup, because rugby as a sporting occasion is a great spectacle and finally because the lessons that rugby gives are more than important.

"Not only that, the Litoral region is most welcoming, beautiful and full of Argentine tradition. Visitors will be marvelled by the friendship of the locals, the different activities that can be done on non-match days or simply the relaxed mode so typical of provincial Argentina."

This Championship takes on another meaning in the year in which Argentina celebrates its Bi-Centenary. It also generates a dream in Castillo.

"The eyes of the world are going to be on our nation. Why can't we think that Argentina, one day, can have a Rugby World Cup? This Junior World Championship is a launch pad to prove that we can."