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Santiago Arata is the winner of the 2020 Premio Charrúa Award for rugby. The Premios Charrúa recognize the top performers in Uruguayan sport. Arata was short-listed together with RWC 2019 teammates Germán Kessler, and Manuel Diana.
The trio of Arata, Kessler and Diana all play professional rugby abroad. Arata plays for Castres in the French Top 14; Kessler plays for Charente in the Pro D2; and Diana plays Major League Rugby (MLR) for the Toronto Arrows. Arata previously played MLR for the Houston SaberCats and Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) for Peñarol.
All three are from Montevideo. Arata is from Old Christians Club. His pathway to the top saw him emerging at an early age to compete for Los Teritos. Uruguay’s High Performance Program saw him rapidly rise to the test side.
Arata debuted against Canada in the 2016 Americas Rugby Championship (ARC). He has hone on to earn 43 caps, four of which were at RWC 2019. Diana debuted for Uruguay in the 2017 ARC. He has 27 caps and score two tries in three matches at RWC 2019. Kessler debuts against Paraguay in 2015. He made the RWC roster in his rookie season, playing in two RWC 2015 matches. He played in all four of Uruguay’s RWC 2019 matches.
