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Santiago Portillo is on his way to Italy. The Argentina XV forward is joining Lyons Piacenza from Selknam. He does so after having been a regular for the Chilean team in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). Portillo had a strong season in helping Selknam to the Semi Finals.
Portillo went through the Argentine High Performance Centers.He was a Pumita in 2014-2015 and earned his first senior opportunity in 2016. It was for the Argentina XV against Romania in the Nations Cup. He was on the Ceibos roster for the 2020 SLAR. Selknam then recruited him for the 2021 season.
Additional playing experience has come in the form of Los Jaguares XV. He was involved in the Argentine team’s campaign in the Currie Cup First Division. Los Jaguares XV went undefeated en route to winning the South African second division competition in 2019.
Despite being uncapped, Portillo is captured by Argentina. He has played several seasons of international competition for the Argentina XV.
The 25-year-old is a product of Los Tarcos in Tucumán. His involvement for both the Argentina XV and in SLAR was in two positions: second-row and N8. He has demonstrated to be an accomplished player in both positions. His lineout work is a feature of his play and was noted by Italian media as a key component of Lyons Piacenza’s recruitment.
