Laphitzondo brothers bond over FIU Rugby

By: Veronika Quispe/Staff Writer

Family time is a vital part of most people’s lives. For Agustin, Jose and Santiago Laphitzondo, it is absolutely everything. FIU rugby just reinforced that.

Although they immigrated to the United States four years ago, some may feel these brothers have adapted and progressed very quickly. “Getting accepted to FIU was a huge deal for my entire family,” says senior Agustin Laphitzondo.

The Laphitzondos were the first ones of their entire family to attend college in America and Agustin Laphitzondo was the first one to join the University’s men’s rugby team to pave way for his two younger brothers. “It was a tough struggle not doing high school here and applying to a state university, but I fought through it,” says Agustin Laphitzondo.

Junior Jose Laphitzondo followed suit a year after. At this point, he had already met the team and the transition was a little easier. Lastly, sophomore Santiago Laphitzondo put on the blue and yellow jersey and joined his brothers at the scrum.

“Last year was my first year; however, I wasn’t a rookie. People already knew me [and] my name already meant something,” Santiago Laphitzondo said.

Rugby granted the Laphitzondos the opportunity to play alongside each other. In Argentina, they never would’ve gotten the chance due to different age divisions.

“It was the best— I can’t explain it. Having them there on the field was incredible. I’m really close with my brothers so our communication when we played together was amazing. Whenever you see one of your brothers catch a ball, you just get so excited,” Jose Laphitzondo said wiping away tears of joy as he reminisced last season’s games.

The Laphitzondo family focused on rugby growing up, unlike most in their country that preferred soccer.

“We would always play rugby on Saturday mornings,” Agustin Laphitzondo said.

“I’ve always loved to kick. When we were kids, our backyard had two trees we would use as goal posts,” Jose Laphitzondo said. “If you punted over, it was one point. If you drop kicked it, it would be three points.”

FIU became a home-away-from-home for them. With long practices and a team full of men who are willing to be a helping hand, it was easy to make new friends.

“Without FIU rugby I would definitely be the lonely guy walking in GC and sitting down by myself to eat. These guys are my family— they’re home,” Santiago Laphitzondo said.

“FIU can be a university that you go to class and then go home. If you don’t find a club, sport or activity that allows you to be social with people, it’s going to be difficult to enjoy your college experience,” says Agustin Laphitzondo.

Although rugby plays a huge role both at home and at school, Jose Laphitzondo decided to take a different field this year and tried out for the football team in the spring. After a mountain of paperwork and endless effort, he is now one of the starting kickers for the Panthers.

“At first, I was really nervous being on the field,” Jose Laphitzondosaid. “Back in Argentina, I never thought I would be playing football in a stadium in Alabama. I told the coach I never in my life thought this would happen. It’s amazing.”

Rugby and football have always had the misconception of being almost exactly the same. However, now that Jose Laphitzondo has played both sports at a collegiate level, he now sees that they are very different.

“Football hits are a lot harder; people who don’t have the ball still get hit and that’s crazy for me. But, for rugby, you need a lot more conditioning and you’re a lot more versatile. You have to make a thousand decisions a time,” he said.

Recently, another Laphitzondo has stepped out of the rugby field, but into the sidelines. At the beginning of the season, backs captain Agustin Laphitzondo injured his already-damaged ACL during rugby practice, making it unsafe for him to continue playing. However, he will not leave the team.

“What I will take from FIU rugby is the sense of family. Even if I won’t be playing, I can’t leave. I’ll be on the sidelines helping out and cheering,” Agustin Laphitzondo said.

Santiago Laphitzondo is the only one left on the team but has no intention of leaving. “I love playing this sport. The morals found in it and the friends I’ve made is something great,” he says.

From the bleachers to the rugby sidelines, this family has remained supportive by attending all games possible or even cheering them on from a distance. “I know [Jose] misses rugby, but when we watch the football games, we’re like, ‘look, that’s our rugby player!’ It gives us bragging rights,” Santiago Laphitzondo said. “It’s a huge sense of pride and he also promotes this unpopular sport.”

Like most brothers, they argue sometimes, yet they are brought together by their two dogs and unhealthy interest in League of Legends.

“We’re very close because we’re the only family we have here in the U.S., but we’re also very different. They’re backs [while] I’m a forward,” says Santiago Laphitzondo.

Agustin Laphitzondo will be graduating in the spring with a major in international relations. Jose Laphitzondo is the only football player in the honors college and will be pursuing a career in finance. Santiago Laphitzondo is just starting out, but he is persistent in his passion for engineering.

For the Laphitzondos, there is nowhere to go but up, and there is no other way to do so than together.

 

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