Uruguay star Santiago Arata will join Castres Olympique on a two-year contract. Though the Top 14 club have yet to formally announce their signings, the deal was confirmed by retiring captain Rodrigo Capó Ortega in an interview with Federico Buysán on Uruguayan radio station Sport 890.
While the move to France has been known since November, the length of the agreement has not been public until now. This will be Arata’s first European contract after short professional stints with the Houston SaberCats of Major League Rugby in 2019 and Peñarol in the inaugural Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season that was limited to just three games before being suspended due to the pandemic.
Arata, 23, has won 43 caps for Los Teros since making his test debut in 2016. He leap-frogged another France-based professional Agustín Ormaechea to secure the starting scrumhalf role for Rugby World Cup 2019. He turned heads with a try-scoring performance in the famous upset win over Fiji.