By Frank Malley, PA Chief Sports Writer, Brisbane

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England centre Will Greenwood's dash to his pregnant wife's bedside last week put the importance of sport, even at World Cup level, into sharp perspective.

But for two members of Uruguay's World Cup squad, rugby and tragedy forever will be intertwined.

Marcelo Nicola, Uruguay's assistant coach, has dedicated his life to rugby in tribute to his parents, who died in the infamous 1972 plane crash after which 16 members of the Old Christians rugby team survived for 72 days in the Andes mountains, inspiring the film 'Alive'. The uncle of Uruguay's second-rower Juan Miguel Alvarez was one of the survivors.

Nicola and Alvarez, preparing for their final Pool C clash against England on Sunday, rarely discuss the incident.

But the story of how the young players, who had been on the way to play a match in Chile, battled for their lives in freezing conditions - drinking melted snow and eating the bodies of their 29 dead friends and team-mates to survive after rescuers gave them up for dead - is a constant source of inspiration.

Nicola, who was just five at the time, has little memory of his parents, Francisco and Esther, who had accepted an invitation to fill seats on the charter flight and whose fate was discovered when two of the survivors eventually trekked out of the mountains to raise the alarm.

But the former Uruguayan full-back, who was capped 21 times, believes coaching the national side at the highest level, despite their struggle at this World Cup, is a way of honouring his dead father.

"When I coach, it is like I am close with my father," says Nicola, who grew up to play for, captain and coach the Old Christians Club himself and who now teaches rugby at the same school in Montevideo where his father was a Physical Education instructor.

"I don't remember the moment of the crash or the waiting and the news. I only have some flashes of my father.

"The most difficult moment for me was when I played rugby and all the fathers of my friends went to watch and I wanted my father to see me play rugby. But I had to be strong and continue my life. I'm sure that's what he would have wanted."

Alvarez's story also is inextricably linked with that fateful day - his uncle Gustavo Zerbino, a medical student and Old Christians player at the time, having survived the crash.

Alvarez now plays for the Carrasco Polo Club, the side where his Test-playing uncles Rafael and Jorge, a former Uruguayan captain, began their careers before joining Gustavo, another former international, at Old Christians.

"They went to Old Christians to keep the club going," explains Alvarez. "Last year was the 30th year reunion and they played in Chile again. My mother went and all my uncles. It was really emotional for them."

The 16 survivors have their own quiet get-together each year and have been back to the mountain crash site where a cross marks the tomb of their friends.

Uruguay's rugby problems pale into insignificance with such a tale, but their frugal existence as a rugby-playing nation is highlighted by the fact they arrived at this World Cup not knowing whether they had enough boots or shirts to last the pool stage.

It brought an impassioned plea from prop Pablo Lemoine for more financial support from the International Rugby Board.

"We don't want the money for the players, but for the structure," he said.

"We need boots and shirts to play rugby. We don't even have insurance and the problem goes on from there.

"Rugby in Uruguay is really amateur. Most of the players are amateur and have jobs during the day before coming to training."

It explains why England have been able to enjoy the most relaxing of weeks at their Gold Coast training camp since their scare against Samoa, secure in the knowledge that Uruguay will be little more than a training work-out for the second-string side.

Of course, it means much, much more to Nicola and Alvarez.