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The Toronto Arrows have signed another star name from Argentina. Joaquín Tuculet joins the Major League Rugby franchise from Los Jaguares. He recently ended his UAR contract and retired from international duty.
Tuculet joins five countrymen at the Toronto Arrows. Three of the five have played together with him for Los Pumas. Tuculet, Manuel Montero, and Tomás de la Vega all started in Argentina’s famous win over France in Córdoba. Gastón Córtes and Juan Cruz González are also Arrows.
Spanish will be an official second language for the team with Uruguayans Gastón Mieres, Manuel Diana, and Leandro Leivas also present. All were with the team in 2020. Tuculet joins Mieres and Leivas in having played at both RWC 2015 and 2019.
Where he lines up in an Arrows backline loaded with talent remains to be seen. Though fullback has been his preferred position for club and country, Tuculet has also been capped at outside center and played on the wing in Europe.
Toronto will be the 31-year-old’s fifth foreign experience. He previously played for the Sale Sharks and Cardiff Blues in the UK in addition to Bordeaux and Grenoble in France.
He returned to Argentina for Los Jaguares’ inaugural Super Rugby campaign in 2016. It was a homecoming for Argentina’s starting fullback from RWC 2015. From 2008-2010 he played for Argentina u19, u20, and Sevens. He joined the Pampas XV and then made his test debut for Argentina in 2012.
Tuculet won 56 caps for Argentina from 2012-2019. He was in winning efforts against Australia, Chile, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Tonga, the USA, and Wales. He featured in RWCs 2015 and 2019, appearing in six matches and scoring four tries. He was last capped in Argentina’s most recent test match; against the USA in Kumagaya, Japan last October.
Despite defeating both Australia and South Africa, his test career highlight was arguably his score against Ireland in Cardiff, Wales in RWC 2015. Two years later, in June 2017, he scored the official Try of the Year against England in Santa Fé.
