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Peñarol have a new captain. The reigning Super Rugby Americas champion will be led by Santiago Civetta in 2024. Civetta takes over the leadership from Manuel Ardao who no longer plays in Uruguay; Ardao will play for the Miami Sharks in Major League Rugby (MLR) 2024.
The 25-year-old Santiago Civenta Ponce de Leon coms from the Old Boys club in Montevideo. He is 1.89m (6-2) tall and weighs 103kg (225 lbs). Despite his age, he has already competed in two Rugby World Cups for Uruguay.
Civetta made his test debut for Uruguay against Russia in 2019. The match was a warm-up fixture for the World Cup with Los Teros winning 48-26 in Montevideo. Civetta was a try scorer on debut in the match. He now has 30 test cap to his name.
The new leader of Peñarol sat out Super Rugby Americas 2023 through injury. He returned to be fully fit ahead of the preparations for the World Cup.
Civetta is the fourth man to be named captain of Uruguay’s professional rugby team. Prop captains are Alejandro Nieto (2020), Andrés Vilaseca (2021-2022) and Manuel Ardao (2023).
