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Argentine players stood up to be noticed this weekend in Europe’s elite. Ahead of the naming of Los Pumas’ roster for November, a flurry of Argentine tries were scored in the Top 14, English Premiership and United Rugby Championship (URC). Tries were scored by contemporary Pumas, former Pumas and uncapped Argentines.
| TOP 14 |
Bayonne were 32-15 winners over Racing 92. Two of Bayonne’s four tries were scored by Argentines. Hooker Facundo Bosch scored in the first-half and winger Mateo Carreras scored in the second. Second-rower Lucas Paulos had a very strong carry in the lead-up to Bosch’s try.
Toulon completed a 30-17 home victory over Montpellier. Back-rower Facundo Isa crossed for Toulon’s opening try. Canadian Tyler Duguid started at lock for Montpellier. Also in the Southwest, Toulouse defeated Pau 22-14 on the road. Argentina’s starting fullback, Juan Cruz Mallía, played fly half for Toulouse.
Clermont downed Vannes 55-33 in the first ever Top 14 match between the sides. Chile’s Iñaki Ayarza was a try scorer for Vannes. He also scored last weekend in his Top 14 debut. Santiago Medrano and Bautista Pedemonte also started for Vannes while Francisco Gorrissen was a replacement. Benjamín Urdapilleta scored 10 points for Clermont. Bautista Delguy also started for Clermont.
Castres defeated Stade Français 35-13. Uruguayan Santiago Arata, who has recently signed a long-term extension with the club, featured as a replacement at scrum-half. Back-rower Juan Martín Scelzo started four Stade Français.
Pumas center Jerónimo de la Fuente captained Perpignan to a 29-26 win over Lyon. He was joined by N8 Joaquín Oviedo and hooker Ignacio Ruiz. Tomás Lavanini started at lock for Lyon. His long-time Pumas partner, Guido Petti started for Bordeaux who fell to La Rochelle on Sunday.
| ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP |
The Newcastle Falcons ended a losing streak of 25 matches on Friday. The 24-18 win over the Exeter Chiefs featured Pedro Rubiolo and Franco Molina starting for opposite teams. Rubiolo used his strength to help force teammates over for the first and second Falcons’ tries.
The Harlequins fell to a 26-24 home defeat in London against Bath. Despite the defeat, it was a highly positive debut for Rodrigo Isgró. Starting on the right wing for the Harlequins, the former Los Pumas 7’s player scored two tries. Former USA Eagle Titi Lamositele started for the Harlequins at tight head.
Saracens sneaked in a 37-35 road win over the Bristol Bears. Santiago Grondona started at flanker for Bristol and USA Eagle AJ MacGinty was the starting fly half and slotted 10 points. Benjamín Elizalde had a try assist; he was a replacement for Bristol. Fellow uncapped Argentine Benjamín Grondona was also a replacement.
Julián Montoya captained the Leicester Tigers to a thrilling 29-26 win over Gloucester on Sunday. Santiago Carreras started at fullback for Gloucester while Matías Alemanno was a second-half replacement at lock.
| UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP (URC) |
Zebre Parma fell to a 10-9 home loss against the Lions in Italy. Uncapped Argentines Gerónimo Prisciantelli and Juan Manuel Pitinari started at fullback and tight head respectively for Zebre Parma. Puma Gonzalo García featured as Zebre’s replacement scrum-half.
In East Wales, the Dragons played host to Benetton. The Italian side were 31-21 winners with Argentine hooker Bautista Bernasconi and tight head Enzo Avaca both scoring tries. Both players are uncapped. Puma Thomas Gallo started with them in an all-Argentine front-row. Puma Tomás Albornoz landed two conversions. Ignacio Mendy left injured in the 7th minute. Rodrigo Martínez started at loose head for the Dragons.
The Sharks were 28-24 winners over the reining URC Champions, the Glasgow Warriors in Durban, South Africa. Sebastián Cancelliere played right wing for the Scottish side. Elsewhere on Saturday, Leinster defeated Connacht 33-12 in Galway, Ireland. Santiago Cordero stared on the left wing.
