Rugby Championship
Crowd to boo Kirchner?
2012-08-23 21:20
Mendoza - If Zane Kirchner is booed on Saturday at the Malvinas Argentinas Stadium when he tackles Los Pumas, he shouldn’t take it personally.
Supersport.com reports that the Springbok fullback happens to share the same surname with former Argentine president Néstor Kirchner. The late president, who led Argentina from 2003 to 2007 was followed into office by his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Needless to say, the surname has a notable profile in Argentina.
“In my first visit to Argentina with a rugby team a few years ago, as I was going through immigration, they took longer than what they should have and I didn’t know why,” Kirchner told the local media.
He was unaware of the situation and seeing his surname in billboards was bizarre. “Driving into town I saw my name all over the place and I wasn’t sure what was going on, maybe I was a criminal or something,” he smiled. “People kept asking me if I was a relative of the Presidential family.”
A try-scorer in the opening Castle Rugby Championship international, Kirchner will play his 17th international on Saturday. “I don’t know much about Argentina the country, I was only there once a few years ago.”
“But so far, we have been treated very well and are feeling very welcomed.”