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His brother may be leaving but Santiago Socino isn’t going anywhere for now. The Argentine hooker has signed a new deal with Newcastle Falcons that will see him stay at Kingston Park for two more seasons. It comes near the end of a roller-coaster year for the 25-year-old who stormed into the Aviva Premiership season in top form but has struggled with fitness, playing only two first team matches since October.
Socino joined Falcons in 2015 after a title-winning season in National League 2 North with Hull Ionians, where he had landed after departing his home club Los Matreros. As part of the Falcons senior academy program he had loan spells with Darlington Mowden Park in 2015-16 and Rotherham Titans in 2016-17. This year he has played exclusively for Newcastle.
Of interest is that he is now qualified to play for England having completed his residency requirements. While it seems an unlikely situation, it shines further light on the increasingly under-fire selection policy of the Argentine Rugby Union to ignore overseas professionals. Socino is a converted loose forward whose ball handling and mobility are noteworthy and his technical skills are quickly developing to that of a first-choice Premiership hooker.
Older brother Juan Pablo, a member of Argentina’s 2015 World Cup squad, has opted to leave Newcastle, signing a two-year deal with Edinburgh of the Guinness Pro Championship. Other confirmed departures include fellow Argentine Belisario Agulla and Canadian pair DTH van der Merwe and Jake Ilnicki.
