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Juan Pablo Socino sliced open London Irish on Friday. The Argentine international scored the opening try for the Newcastle Falcons in their 29-17 home victory.
So impressive has the Falcons’ start to the season been that the club is tied for top spot. This represents the best start to an Aviva Premiership season for the club in twenty years.
After five rounds Newcastle has 19 competition points and a 4-1 record. London Irish are not so fortunate. The Exiles occupy 11th position ahead only of the Worcester Warriors.
The Argentine mid-fielder has been at the forefront of Newcastle’s performances this season. Both he and his brother, Santiago Socino started against London Irish. Canadian flier DTH van der Merwe also started, playing his second match for his new club. He narrowly missed out on scoring in the second half.
Juan Pablo Socino’s try came in the 19th minute. From a set-move he latched onto a Craig Willis pass to slice open the defense and run 43 meters to score under the posts.
Aged 29, Juan Pablo Socino has been playing professional rugby in Europe since 2010. Prior to playing for Argentina Italy were interested in the center who qualifies via residency. He was approached to play for Benetton Treviso and Italy.
In following his dreams to play for his home country, Socino went on to play in Rugby World Cup 2015. He debuted that year against Australia and also faced South Africa prior to the World Cup. At the World Cup itself he earned caps against Namibia and South Africa.He scored four points, converting two tries against Namibia.
The younger brother of Juan Pablo, Santiago is playing his first season in the Aviva Premiership. Having been an ‘A’ League player, the flanker has converted to hooker and is emerging as a genuine international-level player.
