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Castres captain Rodrigo Capó Ortega is to play one more year for Castres. The Uruguayan will remain at the French side for the 2019-2020 season, thereby completing a staggering 18 years playing for the Top 14 club.
The 38-year-old had an early ending to the 2018-2019 season. Having suffered a herniated disc he was ruled out in February for three months, which turned out to be the end of his season.
With Castres Capó Ortega is a two-time Top 14 champion. This officially makes him the most successful Uruguayan player in history and the length of his time at Castres makes it irrefutable. He joined the club in 2002 to become one of the all-time great import players.
In 2003 Capó Ortega played for Uruguay at the Rugby World Cup. He played in all four of Los Teros’ matches, doing so against England, Georgia, Samoa, and South Africa. He would score against Samoa, and tackle ferociously in the win over Georgia.
He would go on to be the national captain, leading Los Teros in the RWC 2007 qualifiers. Uruguay would miss out by 1 point on aggregate to Portugal after second-rower Juan Carlos Bado had been red carded in the home match.
After an extended absence he returned to represent his country in the RWC 2015 qualifiers, proving a key player in the repechage series triumph over Russia. He again returned for the RWC 2019 qualifiers, helping Uruguay overcome Canada home-and-away to qualify as Americas 2 for the first time in history.
In RWC 2019 Uruguay will face Australia, Fiji, Georgia, and Wales. Capó Ortega’s new contract confirms he will continue playing, and thus is a certainty to play for Uruguay in Japan 2019. He is in the Uruguayan starting line-up as projected by Americas Rugby News.
By appearing in RWC 2019 Capó Ortega will set a World Record for the longest time between RWC matches. His last game was against England on November 02 2003. Uruguay’s first game in RWC 2019 will be against Fiji on September 25.
