Enrique Rodríguez (rugby union)


Enrique 'Topo' Rodríguez is an Argentina-born Australian former rugby union player, who today is Co-Founder & Managing Director of the AABC, impresario, professional key note speaker, mental health management advocate & adviser, freelance writer and blogger.
Rodriguez retired from rugby union after having played at international level for Argentina, Tahiti and Australia. He was part of the Wallaby team in the 1984 Grand Slam tour of Great Britain & Ireland. He also represented the Wallabies at the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup hosted by Australia & New Zealand; and captained Australia vs Mendoza Province in Argentina just before retiring from international rugby in November 1987. He was also selected for the South American Jaguars in 1980, gaining four Test caps vs the South African Springboks.
Rodríguez played tighthead prop, loosehead prop and hooker He was known for his hard play, excellent scrummaging technique and superlative physical and mental preparation. His biggest claim of fame is to have been an integral part of four spectacular pushover tries: 1980 ; 1983 ; and Australia vs Wales in 1984 at Cardiff Arms Park.
After retiring from rugby in 1987, Rodriguez was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder type II. A play called Topo by Neil Cole, was shown at the Seymour Theatre Centre, Sydney in May–June 2007, describing the "highs and lows of life" including his experiences of living with mental illness.
In August 2012 Rodriguez self-published a book called "The Art of Scrummaging", which amongst his knowledge and philosophies on the subject of 'Scrummaging'it also presents the opinions of 38 collaborators. It was awarded the IPP Gold Medal for authoring and publishing. In 2015, Rodriguez published an updated version including law changes introduced by the International Rugby Board regarding the 'engagement' sequence of the scrum. This was titled: Rugby-The Art of Scrummaging II.
He is nicknamed Topo - the Spanish word for "mole".
Today Bilateral Exchanges between Australia and Argentina; b) MHMP ; RugbyLeaders.com and "ARSA Worldwide" currently under development.

Early life

Rodríguez was born in Concordia, Argentina on 20 June 1952. He studied Psychology at Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. He started playing rugby for the University team in 1971. Rodríguez initially played wing, centre, and five-eighth, then in the back row before finally moving to the front row. He went on to be selected for the Cordoba Province representative team in 1976. In 2012 the "Consejo Deliberante" of Concordia city bestowed upon TOPO, the special distinction of Honorific Life Ambassador for the city of San Antonio de Padua de la Concordia, for his distinguished career as a sportsman and fellow citizen. A prodigious son of Concordia.

Career

Rodríguez played his first Test match for Argentina against New Zealand 1979 and his last Test match for the Argentine team was against Australia on 7 August 1983 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
In March 1984, he emigrated with his family to Sydney, Australia. Warringah RC organised his settlement in Sydney's Northern Beaches. Rodriguez played his first Test match for the Wallabies against Fiji on 9 June 1984 then a three-test series against New Zealand in Australia and the 1984 Grand Slam tour of UK and Ireland.
In June 1986 played his first test against Argentina, also took part in the Bledisloe Cup winning team in New Zealand. His last international for Australia, coincidentally was against Argentina on 7 November 1987, Buenos Aires.
He was also capped for Tahiti against France in an invitational match to celebrate Bastille Day in Papetee. Other three guests also played for Tahiti, they were All Blacks' backs: Brett Codlin, Robert Kururangi and Tim Twigden.

Career Highlights