Alex Sharman

Alex Sharman (born in Tasmania, Australia) is an Australian Paraguayan retired rugby union player who played for the University of Sydney (NSW, Australia), Falkirk (Scotland), Hinckley and Clifton Rugby Clubs (England), St. Louis Ramblers (USA),[1] Rugby La Vila (Spain), San Jose Rugby Club and CURDA (Paraguay) and the Paraguay national rugby union team.[2] Alex was the first Australian born player to represent Paraguay in rugby.

Alex Sharman
Birth nameAlex Sharman
Place of birthTasmania, Australia
Rugby union career
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2008–2010 Paraguay

Early life

Sharman was born in Hobart, Tasmania, and started playing rugby at The Hutchins School,[3] Captaining the School to a Premiership and also Captaining Tasmania at Underage level. Both of his brothers were also rugby players, who represented Tasmania and spent time playing in Europe.

Sydney

He moved to Sydney at 17 to study and play a higher level of rugby, playing for Sydney Uni Football Club between 1995 and 2002 and winning a number of colts and lower grade Premierships. He made his first grade debut in the semi-finals of the Shute Shield in 2000.

Europe and American rugby

In 2002 he left Australia to travel the world and play rugby. He played seasons for Falkirk RFC (Scotland) in 2002, followed by Hinckley Hinckley RFC (England) in 2002-3 and Clifton Rugby Football Club(England) in 2003-4. In 2003, he was called up to play for an understrength Fijian side in a match against Bristol rugby.

In February 2004, Sharman moved to the U.S.A. where he played for the St. Louis Ramblers (Missouri) for 6 months.

He then moved to La Villajoyosa, Spain, where he spent 2 years playing for CR La Vila. He became player-coach of La Vila in December 2004, holding that position until December 2005 when he broke his ankle.

Paraguay

In February 2006, unsure if he would be able to play rugby again due to his broken ankle, Sharman moved to Paraguay for personal reasons. Sharman resumed playing rugby later that year for the San Jose Rugby Club in Asuncion.

After performing strongly for his club in the following years, in 2008 he was selected in the training squad for that years 2008 South American Rugby Championship "B" and made his debut for the Paraguay national rugby union team in the Pre-Sudamericano tour of Rosario. [4] Due to eligibility issues (he had not fulfilled the 36 months of residency required by the IRB) he had to leave the squad the week before the championship. At the end of that year Sharman was selected for Paraguay in the Cross-Border border tournament against Argentinian provinces.

In 2009, Sharman changed clubs to the CURDA club (Club Universitario de Rugby De Asuncion).[5] After finally fulfilling IRB residency requirements in February 2009, Sharman made his test debut for Paraguay in May 2010, becoming the first Australian born player to represent Paraguay in the 2009 South American Rugby Championship "A" in Montevideo, Uruguay. Later that year he won the Paraguayan League with his club and also played for Paraguay in the Cross Border Competition.[6]

In 2010, Sharman was again starting prop for the Yacares (the nickname of the Paraguayan National Rugby team) in the 2010 South American Rugby Championship "A"Sudamericano A in Chile, playing tests against Chile, Uruguay and Brasil.[7][8][9]

In 2011, political problems within Paraguayan rugby meant that the strongest clubs, including CURDA, did not allow their players to be selected for the South American Championship.

He retired from rugby at the end of 2012, after winning a second Paraguayan Rugby Union title with CURDA.[10]

References
  1. http://www.ramblers.org/rambler-awards/
  2. http://rugbyguarani.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/historia-del-rugby-en-paraguay.html
  3. http://www.hutchins.tas.edu.au/assets/HSOBA_Ivied_Tower_Newsletter_Nov_2013.pdf
  4. "Archivo no encontrado". Abc.com.py. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  5. http://rugby-international.blogspot.com.au/2010_05_01_archive.html
  6. "Archivo no encontrado". Abc.com.py. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  7. "Brasil 23 - Paraguay 18". Consur.org. 27 January 2015. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  8. http://www.feruchi.cl/index.php?id=12&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=516&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=5b527c2a4f
  9. http://www.rugbynews.com.uy/brasil-gano-otra-vez/
  10. "Final de rugby del Torneo Clausura 2012 de Powerade - Edicion Impresa - ABC Color". Abc.com.py. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
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