Irish rugby stars meet Uruguayan hero 'Nando' Parrado who survived plane crash
Rugby icon Parrado, portrayed by Ethan Hawke in the 1993 feature film Alive, gives riveting account of how he survived in the aftermath of Flight 571's crash
Ireland's rugby players had an unforgettable experience, meeting Nando' Parrado, at warm weather training in Portugal this week.
The IRFU and Andy Farrell brought in the Uruguayan rugby player, one of the sixteen survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 which crashed in the Andes on 13 October 1972.
"Nando", real name Fernando "Nando" Seler Parrado Dolgay, spent two months trapped in the mountains with the other crash survivors, he, along with Roberto Canessa, climbed through the Andes mountains over a 10-day period to find help.
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He was portrayed by Ethan Hawke in the 1993 feature film Alive and by Argentine actor Agustín Pardella in the 2023 Spanish feature film Society of the Snow.
“Nando came and spoke to the group when we arrived in camp," said Simon Easterby "Just an inspirational figure in terms of what he and his teammates went through, terrible conditions. I didn’t realise…
"He was obviously one of 17 players on that flight but he also had his mother and his sister on the flight and he lost them in the accident.
"He spent two-and-a-half months trying to figure out a way of staying alive. It was really inspirational. Some of it you could relate to because of his rugby background.
"The club team that he played with has a shamrock on the jersey and he obviously has a known affiliation too as he had been taught growing up by the Christian Brothers. So there was familiarity and similarities."
Raised in the Carrasco neighborhood, 'Nando' attended Stella Maris College which was run by the Christian Brothers, and played for its alumni rugby team, Old Christians Club.
Latterly 'Nando' has been recognised as a successful businessman, producer, motivational speaker, author, and television presenter and racing driver.
Added Easetrby: "It was a real inspiration and interesting to hear from someone who had come through that and come out the other side to live a very full life.”
Meanwhile, aside from some unexpected, unwanted rain, the Ireland group has been enjoying being hidden away in Portugal ahead of their four game Autumn Series beginning with the All Blacks next Friday night at the Aviva.
“Everyone was good today, we’re really pleased,” said Easterby. “The medics have done a great job on top of the provincial stuff and then the transition into national camp has been seamless in terms of those players coming in with a couple of niggles.
So far so good and hopefully we will have a full deck to train with tomorrow and early next week.”
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