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London Irish have signed Argentine Juan Martín González. The English club have signed the 20-year-old rookie Pumas flanker. The move to England continues what has been a breakthrough year for the young Argentine forward.
González held down a startying position for Los Jaguares XV in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). He did so following his involvement in the 2020 Tri Nations. He was on the roster in Australia but did not receive game time.
2021 saw González’ impressive performances during SLAR resulting in a place on the roster for the July Internationals. This time he made his debut. He did so in Argentina’s first match of the year, an away victory against Romania in Bucharest. González was a replacement and scored the decisive try for Los Pumas.
Despite having been left out of the two test matches against Wales, González went on to have a very busy Rugby Championship. He earned his second cap from the bench against South Africa. He was also a replacement in the first of two matches against New Zealand in Australia. He started the second and retained the 6 shirt for both tests against Australia.
González has now signed for London Irish with six test caps to his name while still being aged 20. He will not be alone at the English Premiership club. London Irish is also home to former Pumas captain Agustín Creevy and current test loose head prop Facundo Gigena.
González is from Mendoza at the foot of the Andes Mountains. He is a product of Marista RC. He went through the regional High Performance program en route to playing for Argentina u20s where he started on home soil in the Junior World Championship.
