Gonzalo García will continue his career in Italy; however, the Argentine will move from the Top 10 to the United Rugby Championship (URC). García has signed for Zebre. The move will see the Puma playing in an elite rugby competition in the lead-up to Rugby World Cup 2023.
The 23-year-old García played the 2021-2022 season in Italy for Valorugby Emilia. He impressed to the extent that he was one of three players shortlisted for the Top 10 MVP award.
García’s contract with Zebre is for the 2022-2023 URC season. It comes with an option of extension. García departed Argentina for Italy last season with the stated intention of working his way up to the elite level. He has succeeded in doing so.
The scrum-half is a product of Natación y Gimnasia in Tucumán. He is a former Argentina u20’s captain and became a Puma in 2021. He overtook Felipe Ezcurra during the Rugby Championship and ended 2021 as the third choice Pumas 9 behind Tomás Cubelli and Gonzalo Bertranou.
Bertranou and García will play on rival teams in the URC. Bertranou plays for the Dragons in East Wales. Cubelli plays for Biarritz. The club finished bottom of the 2021-2022 Top 14 to be relegated to the Pro D2.
The new era of Los Pumas starts next month. Argentina will play a three match series at home against Scotland. García and Cubelli are the two scrum-halves on the roster. Bertranou will play for the Argentina XV against Portugal and Georgia. In short, García is positioned as one of the top two Argentine scrum-halves and has now secured his playing future in the elite.