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Lucio Cinti will remain in the English Premiership. The 23-year-old has signed for Saracens. He makes the move from one English Premiership club to another following the collapse of London Irish.
Cinti makes the move from London Irish to Saracens with 12 test caps for Argentina. He made 31 appearances for London Irish and scored seven tries.
Cinti and fellow Pumas Agustín Creevy, Facundo Gigena, Juan Martín González and Ignacio Ruiz played for London Irish in the recently completed 2022-2023 season. Cinti is the first of them to secure his playing future.
His name first appeared at the highest level in Argentina’s historic win over New Zealand in the 2020 Tri Nations. He was an unused replacement, meaning his test debut had to wait. He was fast-tracked to Los Pumas from Los Pumas 7’s.
Cinti was a star for Argentina at the Tokyo Olympics. His test debut came less than one month after winning Bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. Cinti’s first cap was alongside fellow Olympian, Ignacio Mendy against South Africa. Cinti was a replacement in the loss in Port Elizabeth.
Cinti was elevated into the starting lineup for subesquent matches. He started at outside center against New Zealand in Brisbane and against Australia in both Townsville and Gold Coast. He played wing in Argentina’s 2022 win over New Zealand in Christchurch.
London Irish made full use of Cinti’s utility value. Cinti played at outside center, wing and fullback. This was well-noted by Argentine coaches. Indeed, Cinti is in advanced plans for the World Cup. Argentina intend on having two full XV’s on their roster. Cinti can contribute to the selections by covering the aforementioned three positions.
Cinti is a native of La Plata and is a product of La Plata Rugby Club. He is a Gold Medalist in Rugby 7’s at the Junior Olympics and a Bronze Medalist in the sport at the senior level. Saracens will be Cinti’s second professional club.
Saracens are the reigning English Premiership champions. The club defeated the Sale Sharks in the 2023 English Premiership Final. Puma Eduardo Bello was on the Saracens roster but did not feature in the final. Bello had an injury affected season. He has moved north to join four other Pumas at Newcastle Falcons.
