Gerardo Abascal, a Guatemala native, has been playing rugby for three years and has achieved something that most rugby players never get the opportunity to do, play for their countries national team.
Abascal, a junior, first started playing for the University of Louisiana Lafayette when he was a freshman. “My friends brought me to my first practice and I picked up the game well and I loved it,” said Abascal. Since then, Abascal has been a key player for ULL. He currently runs the Ragin Cajun back line at fly half and has been playing phenomenally at that position. This season ULL is 3-1 and is tied for second place in the conference.
Abascal has enjoyed every minute of being apart of the ULL team. He stated “Being a part of Ragin Cajun Rugby has been a unique experience like no other, coach Boyd has pushed me to be better everyday and there is a strong brotherhood that plays a big part during games. On and off the field, joining Ragin Cajun Rugby has been a very rewarding experience.”
Due to his impressive play, Abascal was invited to play with the Deep South All Stars, this interested the Guatemala national team. “I got involved by some friends that had played in the national squad and they knew I had played with the Deep South All Stars here which made the coach interested,” explained Abascal. After the initial interest, he began playing for his home country. Abascal continued, “It was an amazing experience and the intensity of the games was immense. My favorite rugby moment has certainly been singing the national anthem for my country before a rugby match.“
Abascal looks to continue his success with ULL and hopefully keep getting invited to play with the Guetmala National squad. This week ULL takes on Troy, a rematch from last years Deep South Conference championship, so it should be quite the game to watch.