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Gloucester have confirmed the signing of Matías Alemanno from Argentina. The Córdoba second-rower will join the English Premiership club for the upcoming season.
The 28-year-old was contracted to the UAR until December 2020, though has obtained release due to COVID-19. He is the third high-profile Jaguares forward to depart Argentina in as many weeks. Guido Petti now plays for Bordeaux and Marcos Kremer has joined Stade Français.
Kremer made his debut for Argentina in 2016. It was as a replacement against New Zealand. The starting second-row combination was Petti and Alemanno. Both Petti and Alemanno debuted for Argentina in 2014 and played in RWC 2015; Kremer joined them at RWC 2019.
Of the three men Alemanno has the most caps. His 61 test caps are 17 less than Pedro Sporleder’s Argentine second-row record of 78. His most recent cap was also Argentina’s most recent test match, a RWC pool match against the USA in Kumagaya, Japan.
The match was Alemanno’s one start of RWC 2019 but he appeared in all four of his team’s matches. Against France, Tonga, and England Alemanno was a replacement second-rower with Petti, and Tomás Lavanini being the starting combination.
Lavanini was sent-off in the match against England. This saw his next fixture being in England, for the Leicester Tigers. Alemanno’s move from Los Jaguares to Gloucester now means that he and Lavanini are going to be playing for English Premiership rivals.
The Leicester Tigers are also presently the home of Facundo Gigena. Both Alemanno and Gigena are not only former Jaguares players, but both men are also from Córdoba. Gigena remains uncapped though was named on Mario Ledesma’s list for 2020.
