Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The Wasps have signed Pumas loose head prop Rodrigo Martínez. The Rugby Paper report that the deal will see the 2021 Argentine rookie playing for the English Premiership club until at least the end of the 2021-2022 season.
The move caps off a breakthrough year for Martínez. He was recruited by Paraguayan side the Olímpia Lions to play in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). Injuries meant he subsequently got the call-up to Los Pumas for the July Internationals.
He watched on as Los Pumas faced Romania and Wales. Having done so, Martínez was also on the roster for the Rugby Championship. He made his test debut against Australia in the competition. The most recent of his three caps came against France earlier this month in Paris.
Argentina utilized six loose head props in 2021. All of them now play their rugby in Europe. They are Ignacio Calles (Pau), Thomas Gallo (Benetton), Facundo Gigena (London Irish), Rodrigo Martínez (Wasps), Carlos Muzzio (Mont de Marsan) and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (Benetton)
The Coventry-based Wasps have no other Americas’ players on their roster. Martínez is a product of Los Tordos in Mendoza. He went through the regional High Performance Center before playing for Argentina at u20 level and then for the Argentina XV. He moves to England at the age of 23. He weighs 111kg and is 1.87m tall.
