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Felipe Contepomi described moving to Ireland as "one of my best decisions ever in life"

Ex-Leinster and Argentina rugby star Felipe Contepomi says moving to Ireland in 2003 was one of t...



Felipe Contepomi described mov...
Rugby

Felipe Contepomi described moving to Ireland as "one of my best decisions ever in life"

Ex-Leinster and Argentina rugby star Felipe Contepomi says moving to Ireland in 2003 was one of the best decisions he ever made in life.

The 39-year-old, who currently does some coaching as well as co-running the Centro Medico Contepomi in Buenos Aires, was in Dublin and dropped in for a chat with Off The Ball.

Contepomi explained how he was able to combine playing for Leinster and studying for medical qualifications.

"I wanted to be a doctor when I was a teenager and that's why I think I could achieve it while doing another profession - a lovely profession that is playing rugby," he said, before discussing how he arrived on these shores in 2003.

"Then came the opportunity to play rugby and study in Ireland. That's why I came here and I think it was one of my best decisions ever in life because I ended up playing in the the best team I've ever played in, that is Leinster, and I had my best rugby memories and I also got what I wanted, which was my degree." 

Contepomi also spoke about an act of outstanding kindness from his parents who took in the four children of close family friends who had passed away in a plane crash.

"They lived a time with their grandmother and then she died and then they came and lived with us. For us, I've got 12 brothers [and sisters]," he said, adding that his parents encouraged every sibling to do what they really wanted to in life in terms of their later careers.

Contepomi, who is an anti-doping ambassador for the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) believes the problem of doping is more of an issue in "underage, under-20s, tier two rugby countries."

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