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Italian side Benetton have signed Santiago Ruiz from Argentina. The United Rugby Championship (URC) side made the announcement on Friday. The move will see Ruiz playing abroad for the first time. He makes the move as a holder of an Italian passport.
Ruiz is uncapped by Argentina but has representative honors for the next-of-XV, the Argentina XV. He hated played Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) for Los Jaguares XV and Super Rugby Americas for Los Pampas. He captained Los Pumas to the Semi Finals of Super Rugby Americas 2023.
Capable of playing across the back-row, Ruiz led Los Pampas from N8. He will be no stranger to many players at Benetton. The Treviso-based side contains Argentines Iván Nemer, Thomas Gallo, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Bautista Bernasconi, Tomás Albornoz, Ignacio Brex, Joaquín Riera, and Ignacio Mendy.
Italy’s other URC side is all home to Argentine players. Juan Pitinari, Bautista Stavile, Guido Volpi, Gonzalo García and Gerónimo Prisciantelli play for Zebre Parma. Many players from both Benetton and Zebre played in SLAR.
Santiago Ruiz is a native of Buenos Aires and a rugby product of Regatas de Bella Vista. The same club produced Pumas winger Santiago Cordero and tight head Santiago Medrano. Santiago Ruiz is the brother of Pumas hooker Ignacio Ruiz. He remains on the market following the collapse of London Irish.
