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Gonzalo García continues to push for a Pumas recall. The 24-year-old has been in the thick of the action for Zebre Parma in the United Rugby Championship (URC). Like Ignacio Mendy for Benetton, García was a try scorer this weekend.
García touched down in the opposition try zone against Edinburgh. He did so early on in the match; his 3rd minute try opened the scoring. Zebre Parma competed well but fell to a 24-19 home defeat against the Scottish opposition. Argentine Gerónimo Prisciantelli also started in the backs. He played opposite Emiliano Boffelli.
García is a product of the Natación y Gimnasia club in Tucumán. He impressed in his youth to play three seasons for Argentina at u20 level. In 2020 he began his professional career in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). He played for Los Ceibos in the brief season.
García moved north to play for Colombia’s Cafeteros Pro in SLAR 2021. He played for a struggling team but was a standout player; notably being easily the best scrum-half in the league. Americas Rugby News named García as the best back of the season in SLAR 2021.
His test debut followed. Having not initially included García, Mario Ledesma subsequently selected him during the 2021 Rugby Championship. Gonzalo Bertranou, Tomás Cubelli and Felipe Ezcurra had been all ahead of García.
As the tournament unfolded, García got called-up and debuted against New Zealand. He went on to earn three caps, doing so while attracting attention from abroad. He signed his first contract for Valorugby Emilia to play in Italy’s Serie A. From there he signed for Zebre Parma in 2022.
His time at Zebre Parma has been influenced by injuries. He has shown tremendous spirit to fight back and return to playing. Had it not been for set-backs then García would have many more caps to his name. He was preferred to Bertranou for 2022 only to be ruled out through injury. Knee surgery ended his 2022-2023 season early and he was not fit in time to be considered for the World Cup.
