It has recently come to light that the Gipuzkoa Sortzen initiative, envisioned as the foundation for a unified rugby team in Gipuzkoa, has ceased its activities. This project faced difficulties from its inception, including the refusal of the Hernani Errugbi Elkartea assembly to participate.
The author of this opinion believes that the future of Gipuzkoan rugby lies in forming a single team representing the entire territory. As an example, the experience of Hernani in the new DH Elite category is cited: despite leading in the first round, the team, composed of homegrown players, lost all matches in the second, narrowly avoiding relegation.
Furthermore, Hernani's M23 team, essential for competing in the DH Elite, qualified among the top ten teams in the state. However, as the first team required its players, the M23 weakened towards the end of the season, overshadowing its own progress. This demonstrates the strength of Hernani's youth academy, producing players like Mikel Perez, Manex Arizeta, Iker Aduriz, Unax Zuriarrain, and Olai Rodriguez.
Personally, I still believe that the future of our rugby lies in forming a team from all of Gipuzkoa. To maintain and nurture this talent pool, we lack sufficient resources, especially financial, and I would say it will be very difficult to go beyond this elite level we are in, or even to maintain it.
Nevertheless, the author emphasizes the lack of sufficient economic resources to sustain this youth development, and the difficulty of maintaining or advancing at the current elite level. It is suggested that a small town like theirs cannot offer more, warning of the risk of talent drain.
For all these reasons, it is increasingly clear that the future of Gipuzkoan rugby will come from a unified team. This project, although currently stalled, is well-developed and should be completed by all rugby clubs in Gipuzkoa, as the territory has great potential to compete in the State's 1st Division of Honor.
