Javier Rojas will be staying with Cornish Pirates after all. The RFU Championship club announced the Argentine Olympian as one of the departures, bringing back countryman Nicolás de Battista from Zebre as a replacement. Instead of returning home to Rosario, however, Rojas has signed a new one-year deal to stay at the Mennaye for the 2019-2020 season.
The 28-year-old played 14 games for the Pirates this past season, splitting his time between flyhalf and inside center. Rojas had joined the club from Viadana in Italy, where he spent the 2017-2018 season after stepping away from the Pumas Sevens team. He participated in the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The Pirates have bolstered their squad with several new players after finishing 5th this past season. Former Wales prop Craig Mitchell, Samoan lock Fa’atiga Lemalu, and New Zealand Sevens international Antonio Kirikiri join Rojas, de Battista, and Canadian pair Brett Beukeboom and Matt Evans in Cornwall.