Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Montpellier were close signing Joaquín Oviedo but the Puma is not going anywhere. He has signed to remain at Perpignan until 2026. It is an extension on his contract with the Catalans which is until June 2024.
Oviedo joined Perpignan from Argentina in 2021. He did so on a three-year-deal. The move came after he impressed for Los Jaguares XV in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR), now Super Rugby Americas. Oviedo signed for Perpignan as a teenager.
Perpignan is thus Oviedo’s second professional team and Montpellier was close to being his third. He was the starting N8 for the Argentine SLAR team in the 2021 season. The team won all of their matches and were crowned champions by defeating Peñarol in the SLAR Final.
His move to France has been successful. Oviedo receives regular game time for Perpignan. Opportunity saw him earn a call-up to Los Pumas for the World Cup. The Córdoba back-rower replaced Santiago Grondona who was forced out of the tournament through injury.
Oviedo received the call-up by Michael Cheika following a busy 2023 in World Cup warm-up matches for the Argentina XV against Namibia and Chile. He also played for the Argentina XV in 2022, taking on Georgia and Portugal.
He made his test debut for Argentina against Australia in 2021. He did so in the Rugby Championship in Townsville. Mateo Carreras and Rodrigo Martínez also both debuted in that match. He earned his second test cap at the World Cup against Chile.
The 22-year-old is a product of Córdoba Athletic. He went through the Argentine High Performance system, playing for Los Pumitas. He then became a professional player for Los Jaguares in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) in 2021 and joined Perpignan latter that year following his test debut.
