Capó Ortega to play for French Barbarians

Uruguayan lock Rodrigo Capó Ortega is one of three players confirmed by the French Barbarians as part of their squad to take on Australia at the Stade Chaban-Delmas in Bordeaux on November 24. The Castres captain will be joined by Bordeaux’s Australian winger Blair Connor and former French international Auréllien Rougerie with the rest of the group to be announced at a later date. It is expected that Australia will name a development side for the match with a full test against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin scheduled for just two days later.

This will not be the first time Capó Ortega has suited up for the French invitational side. In November 2014 he featured as a replacement in the 35-14 win over Namibia at Toulon. He holds the rare distinction of having also appeared for the Barbarians Football Club based in the United Kingdom, playing against Ireland alongside Argentinean prop Roberto Tejerizo in May 2015.

Capó Ortega is one of two Uruguayans to have appeared for the French Barbarians, the other being former Stade Français prop and current Uruguayan High Performance Director Pablo Lemoine. A number of Americas players have also achieved the honor. Canadian lock Mike James made five appearances for the side, and USA winger William Jefferson six. Capo Ortega’s Castres teammate Benjamín Urdapilleta played for the French Barbarians twice in 2015 and could yet receive his third selection for the match against the Wallabies.