Courtney Lawes’ power hit changed Gonzalo Tiesi’s life

Courtney Lawes made his usual powerful impact off the bench at Twickenham yesterday – bringing painful memories for Gonzalo Tiesi.
Outside centre Tiesi, London Welsh’s latest signing, winces at his recollection of meeting Lawes in the opening weekend of the 2011 World Cup.
Argentina were playing England in Dunedin and Tiesi’s tournament lasted just 36 minutes –  as England lock  Lawes put in a monster tackle that ended Tiesi’s season and changed his life.
“The hit Courtney Lawes gave me meant I slipped a disc in my back and missed the rest of the season with Stade Francais,”  Tiesi told The Rugby Paper.
“I was out of contract, so I went back to Argentina to finish my recovery, then had a month-and-a-half in Pensacola, USA, doing fitness and rehab.
“I started playing again with San Isidro and then got a recall for Argentina in November, so I ended last year well and I’m excited to be back.”
The next stage of Tiesi’s rehabilitation will see him playing for London Welsh – a surprise signing but a hugely significant one nonetheless.
The 27-year-old is a familiar figure in south-west London, having spent three years at London Irish from 2005-2008 before hopping aboard the Harlequins bandwagon for a couple of highly productive seasons.
Tiesi tackles like a demon, knows the Premiership inside out and is fully committed to the cause of keeping the Exiles in the top-flight.
Beyond that, he aims to be part of the Argentina squad that takes on England in June. And in that respect, the timing of his arrival is perfect.
“I’ll be keeping a close eye on England during the Six Nations,” Tiesi says. “I like to watch all the teams so I’m really looking forward to it.
“To play for my country makes me proud and I prepare for it every day. Club rugby is very important, but my main aim is to perform for my country.
“It would be amazing to play against England this summer. I still have some very good friends at Harlequins – guys like Chris Robshaw, Mike Brown, Danny Care, Jordan Turner-Hall and Ugo Monye – so to play against them would be fantastic.
“But my first aim is hopefully to add something to the squad at London Welsh in order to help them achieve their goals in the Premiership.
 
“I’m really looking forward to being involved because it’s been an amazing time for London Welsh and this last part of the season is crucial.
“It’s been a while since I played in a professional league but after the injury problems I’ve had, it’ll be great to be back in business.”
Tiesi admits he probably should not have left Quins when he did, but insists he has no regrets about joining Stade Francais in 2010.
“I wanted to taste French rugby and it proved wrong in some ways,” Tiesi explained. “Quins would have been the place to stay but I have no regrets. I played for a great team at Stade and life in Paris was very good.
“It certainly wasn’t a disaster, I just had some bad luck. If I hadn’t had the injury at the World Cup, things might have been different.
“Am I surprised Quins have done so well? Not really, because I was involved in the build-up after the club came back from the second division. Quins went through difficult times while I was there, especially with ‘Bloodgate,’ but everyone trusted that the good days would come.
“In my first season we reached the Premiership semi-final and the quarter-final of the Heineken Cup, so it was the lead-in to what happened.
“They’re Premiership champions now and I’m very happy for them because of the good people there. I have good memories of Quins.”
NEALE HARVEY