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Santiago González Iglesias has signed for Japanese club Munakata Sanix Blues. The move comes following him missing out on a place in Los Jaguares for the 2020 season and also following his match for the Barbarians in their win last month over Brazil in São Paulo.
Aged 31, González Iglesias was a mainstay in the Argentine High Performance Center from 2010-2019. He was a part of Los Pampas XV, the side who won the Vodacom Cup; and a Jaguar from 2016-2019. He was the understudy to Nicolás Sánchez to begin with but would be out of favor and lack regular game time.
As a part of Los Pampas XV, González Iglesias was well-known to Daniel Hourcade. With Hourcade replacing Santiago Phelan as Head Coach of Los Pumas the career of González Iglesias changed notably. He went from one cap in 2011 vs Chile to earning 40 under Hourcade.
As a trusted player under Hourcade, González Iglesias had test starts at fly half, inside center, and outside center. He was named in the roster for RWC 2015 where he played in three matches and scored 11 points against Namibia. In the 2016 Rugby Championship he slotted the winning kick against South Africa in Salta.
With González Iglesias moving to Japan the exodus continues. He follows the departure from Argentina of winger Manuel Montero to Olímpia (Paraguay); scrum-half Martín Landajo, and loose head prop Santiago García Botta to the Harlequins (England); tight head prop Enrique Pieretto to the Exeter Chiefs (England); second-rower Tomás Lavanini to Leicester Tiger (England); flanker and Pumas captain Pablo Matera to Stade Français (France); and winger Ramiro Moyano to Toulon (France)
In moving to the Munataka Sanix Blues, González Iglesias will play home matches in Fukuoka. The city was a host of three RWC 2019 matches: Italy vs Canada, France vs USA, and Ireland vs Samoa.
