La Vila players make it big time

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LA VILA PLAYERS MAKE OLYMPUS TEAM

Two players from La Vila Rugby Club have been selected to represent Spain in the Amlin European Challenge Cup.  Martin Aceña and Matt Cook, both third line players, were selected for Olympus, a combined Spanish team representing the best that Spanish rugby has to offer.  The Spanish team will compete against Montpellier of France, Connacht of Ireland, and Worcester of England, in a struggle for the 2009 Amlin Cup.

Olympus faced England's Worcester Warriors on Saturday 17 October in Madrid, at the Ciudad Universitaria.  Although the Spanish team lost 38-5 to the Warriors, it was a good experience to play against other players of an international standard.  Aceña and Cook were the only two players from the Valencia region to be called up for the game, and both produced strong performances on the day.

Aceña, who plays in the third line, is the captain of La Vila Rugby Club's senior team, and is a former player for FC Barcelona and Valladolid Vrac.  Cook, La Vila's eighth-man, is originally from England, but has met the required three years residency in Spain in order to pass as a national player.  Before joining La Vila, he played for Denia Rugby Club.  Aceña and Cook's incorporation into the national team is a major achievement for La Vila Rugby Club, which is only just settling into its second season in Spain's premiership league (the top league in Spain).  Hopefully next season it will see more of its players called up to represent Spain.

A Few Questions with Martin Aceña ...

 
Martin Ignacio Aceña Colaneri, captain of La Vila Rugby Club, and the recently selected member of Spain's Olympus team, answered a few questions about rugby, life ... and pizza.  Martin was born on 1st November 1983 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.  He plays in the forwards - preferably, he says, at flank.

How does it feel being invited to join the Spanish national team?

It's an honour to have been included in Olympus.  It's a great experience for me - especially having an opportunity to play with the best rugby players in Spain, and for us as a team to match ourselves against strong teams from around the world.  I feel we have a good chance to do Spain proud.

What would you say is the best game you have played in?
I wouldn't be able to say which was the best, but the contest with the Mariners in SIR (Super Iberica Rugby League) was incredible.  

What phrase or saying really gets your head into a game?
When the body can give no more, you can only play with your heart.  Because sweat dries, fatigue fades and you can only be proud of having given everything.

Give us your favourite meal, your favourite movie and your favourite book...

Pizza, if possible homemade by my mother, La Vida es Bella (Life is Beautiful); and The Art of Falconry.

Finally, what three things would you want on a desert island?
My wife Sole, Kypa my dog and a fishing rod.

Jo le Roux

Public Relations

RUGBY LA VILA

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