Americas World Cup player status post-Japan

A total of 130 players from the Americas traveled to Japan this past September to participate in the Rugby World Cup – six call-ups joined the initial 124 selected. Of the 130, all but five made at least one on-field appearance in the tournament. Those who did not include Argentina hooker Santiago Socino, USA prop Chance Wenglewski, and Canadian trio Dustin Dobravsky, Kainoa Lloyd, and Theo Sauder.

Transfers are always a significant part of the professional off-season, particularly among ‘Tier 2’ players in Europe who are often on short-term contracts. During a World Cup year this number can increase dramatically as clubs are unwilling to commit to paying wages for players who miss up to half of the club season with international commitments.

The introduction of the new Súper Liga in South America means that more than 40% of those at the World Cup have joined or will join a new team in 2020. Of those, 14 players remain unsigned following the tournament with that number is expected to drop in the near future.

TEAM	MOVED	SIGNED	UNSIGNED
Argentina	5	1	0
Canada	8	1	6
Uruguay	4	13	5
USA	9	0	3

Below we take a team-by-team look at who moved where and how recent developments have influenced their professional status.

 

ARGENTINA

The Jaguares were the overwhelming provider of talent for Los Pumas at the tournament with the embargo on overseas selection contributing heavily to that. While that policy was softened somewhat in 2019, its effects were still clear and obvious as leading talents like Facundo Isa, Juan Imhoff, and Santiago Cordero were overlooked for those based locally.

Player movement post-Japan has comparatively minimal, largely due to that reliance on Super Rugby. Enrique Pieretto grew frustrated with the lack of opportunities and has moved to Exeter, with Ramiro Moyano joining Toulon after effectively being dropped at the World Cup.

Tomás Lavanini and captain Pablo Matera are both irreplaceable members of the pack and it will be interesting to see how their move to Europe affects selection. Juan Manuel Leguizamón has retired from Los Pumas and will play in Major League Rugby this coming season.

The only player attached to an amateur club prior to the tournament was inside center Lucas Mensa. He had been part of the Argentina XV development program. Most expected Mensa to play a significant role for the Jaguares in 2020 but he will instead line up for Ceibos in the Súper Liga.

POS

NAME

PRE-RWC

POST-RWC

LH	Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro	Jaguares	Jaguares
LH	Mayco Vivas	Jaguares	Jaguares

HO	Agustín Creevy	Jaguares	Jaguares
HO	Julián Montoya	Jaguares	Jaguares
HO	Santiago Socino	Jaguares	Jaguares

TH	Juan Figallo	Saracens (UK)	Saracens (UK)
TH	Santiago Medrano	Jaguares	Jaguares
TH	Enrique Pieretto	Jaguares	Exeter Chiefs (UK)

LO	Matías Alemanno	Jaguares	Jaguares
LO	Tomás Lavanini	Jaguares	Leicester Tigers (UK)
LO	Guido Petti	Jaguares	Jaguares

FL/LO	Marcos Kremer	Jaguares	Jaguares
FL	Juan Manuel Leguizamón	Jaguares	Seattle Seawolves (US)
FL	Tomás Lezana	Jaguares	Jaguares
FL	Pablo Matera	Jaguares	Stade Français (FR)

N8	Rodrigo Bruni	Jaguares	Jaguares
N8	Javier Ortega Desio	Jaguares	Jaguares

SH	Gonzalo Bertranou	Jaguares	Jaguares
SH	Tomás Cubelli	Jaguares	Jaguares
SH	Felipe Ezcurra	Jaguares	Jaguares

FH	Nicolás Sánchez	Stade Français (FR)	Stade Français (FR)
FH	Benjamín Urdapilleta	Castres (FR)	Castres (FR)

CE	Jerónimo de la Fuente	Jaguares	Jaguares
CE	Juan Cruz Mallía	Jaguares	Jaguares
CE	Lucas Mensa	Pucará	Ceibos
CE	Matías Orlando	Jaguares	Jaguares

WI	Santiago Carreras	Jaguares	Jaguares
WI	Bautista Delguy	Jaguares	Jaguares
WI/CE	Matías Moroni	Jaguares	Jaguares
WI	Ramiro Moyano	Jaguares	Toulon (FR)

FB	Emiliano Boffelli	Jaguares	Jaguares
FB	Joaquín Tuculet	Jaguares	Jaguares

 

CANADA

Players stationed in seven different countries turned out for Canada in Japan, the most of any of the Americas teams. The Toronto Arrows were the most significant provider of talent as Canada’s only professional team, with MLR contributing 18 of the 35 who traveled.

Two players – Hubert Buydens and Phil Mack – have now begun the transition to full-time coaching though neither have officially declared their retirements as players. Eight players have signed for new professional clubs, three of them returning from Europe to join MLR sides.

Canada selected four who were attached to amateur clubs prior to the tournament. Of those, one – Ben LeSage – has since turned professional. The other three – Dustin Dobravsky, Gordon McRorie, and Nick Blevins – do not appear headed towards professional deals.

Theo Sauder switched from the Arrows to the Canada Sevens program, while three others remain unsigned. Luke Campbell and Kainoa Lloyd are no longer with Toronto, with both presently attached to James Bay. Most notable is starting flyhalf Peter Nelson, formerly of Ulster but currently out of contract.

POS

NAME

PRE-RWC

POST-RWC

LH	Hubert Buydens	NOLA Gold	Trinity Western (coach)
LH	Djustice Sears-Duru	Seattle Seawolves	Seattle Seawolves

HO	Eric Howard	NOLA Gold	NOLA Gold
HO	Benoît Pifféro	Blagnac (FR)	Blagnac (FR)
HO	Andrew Quattrin	Toronto Arrows	Toronto Arrows

TH	Jake Ilnicki	Seattle Seawolves	Seattle Seawolves
TH	Cole Keith	Toronto Arrows	Toronto Arrows
TH	Matt Tierney	Pau (FR)	Castres (FR)

LO	Kyle Baillie	NOLA Gold	NOLA Gold
LO	Conor Keys	Rotherham Titans (UK)	Rugby ATL
LO	Josh Larsen	Austin Elite	New England Free Jacks
LO	Evan Olmstead	Newcastle Falcons (UK)	Biarritz (FR)
LO	Mike Sheppard	Toronto Arrows	Toronto Arrows

FL	Dustin Dobravsky	Castaway Wanderers	Castaway Wanderers
FL	Matt Heaton	Mowden Park (UK)	Rugby ATL
FL	Lucas Rumball	Toronto Arrows	Toronto Arrows

N8	Tyler Ardron	Chiefs (NZ)	Chiefs (NZ)
N8	Luke Campbell	Toronto Arrows	James Bay

SH	Phil Mack	Seattle Seawolves	Seattle Seawolves (coach)
SH	Jamie Mackenzie	Toronto Arrows	Toronto Arrows
SH	Gordon McRorie	Calgary Hornets	Calgary Hornets

FH	Peter Nelson	Ulster (UK)
FH	Shane O’Leary	Nottingham (UK)	Nottingham (UK)

CE	Nick Blevins	Calgary Hornets	Calgary Hornets
CE	Guiseppe du Toit	Toronto Arrows	Toronto Arrows
CE	Ciaran Hearn	London Irish (UK)	Old Glory DC
CE	Ben LeSage	UBC Thunderbirds	Toronto Arrows
CE	Conor Trainor	Nevers (FR)	Nevers (FR)

WI	Jeff Hassler	Seattle Seawolves	Seattle Seawolves
WI	Kainoa Lloyd	Toronto Arrows	James Bay
WI	Taylor Paris	Castres (FR)	Castres (FR)
WI	DTH van der Merwe	Glasgow Warriors (UK)	Glasgow Warriors (UK)

FB	Andrew Coe	Canada Sevens	Canada Sevens
FB	Patrick Parfrey	Toronto Arrows	Toronto Arrows
FB	Theo Sauder	Toronto Arrows	Canada Sevens

 

URUGUAY

The success of Los Teros at the World Cup can be attributed to both the increased number of professionals abroad and their own centralized training contracts for players based locally. MLR helped prepare 10 players with another four coming from Europe.

By far the most significant change for 2020 is the creation of the Súper Liga. There are now 15 of the side signed up with Montevideo’s new team Peñarol, 11 of those signed from amateur clubs. Seven remain in MLR with one new to the North American league – Arrows addition Manuel Diana.

Germán Kessler is the biggest individual success story having signed for Pro D2 club Charente, though Santiago Arata will soon join him in Europe with a move to Castres on the cards at the end of his Súper Liga campaign with Peñarol.

Of the handful currently unsigned, Franco Lamanna is to sign with an unnamed Italian club in the coming weeks. The others have opted out of professional rugby for the moment. Facundo Gattas will continue to work and study in Buenos Aires, while Juan Pedro Rombys, Juan Diego Ormaechea, and World Cup skipper Juan Manuel Gaminara have chosen to focus on their careers outside of rugby though they remain available for international duty if needed.

POS

NAME

PRE-RWC

POST-RWC

LH/TH	Juan Echeverría	Austin Elite (US)	Austin Herd (US)
LH	Joaquín Jaunsolo	Los Cuervos	Peñarol
LH	Mateo Sanguinetti	Houston SaberCats (US)	Peñarol

HO/LH	Facundo Gattas	Hindú (AR)	Hindú (AR)
HO	Germán Kessler	Los Cuervos	Charente (FR)
HO	Guillermo Pujadas	Champagnat	Peñarol

TH	Diego Arbelo	MVCC	Peñarol
TH	Juan Pedro Rombys	Trébol	Trébol

LO	Ignacio Dotti	NOLA Gold (US)	NOLA Gold (US)
LO	Franco Lamanna	Mowden Park (UK)
LO	Manuel Leindekar	Oyonnax (FR)	Oyonnax (FR)
LO	Diego Magno	Houston SaberCats (US)	Houston SaberCats (US)

FL	Manuel Ardao	Old Christians	Peñarol
FL	Santiago Civetta	Old Boys	Peñarol
FL	Juan Manuel Gaminara	Old Boys	Old Boys
FL	Juan Diego Ormaechea	Carrasco Polo	Carrasco Polo

N8	Manuel Diana	Old Christians	Toronto Arrows (CA)
N8	Alejandro Nieto	Houston SaberCats (US)	Peñarol

SH	Santiago Arata	Houston SaberCats (US)	Peñarol
SH	Agustín Ormaechea	Mont-de-Marsan (FR)	Mont-de-Marsan (FR)

FH	Felipe Berchesi	Dax (FR)	Dax (FR)
FH	Felipe Etcheverry	Carrasco Polo	Peñarol

CE	Juan Manuel Cat	Old Boys	Peñarol
CE	Agustín Della Corte	Trébol	Peñarol
CE	Tomás Inciarte	Old Christians	Peñarol
CE	Andrés Vilaseca	Austin Elite (US)	Peñarol

WI	Federico Favaro	Old Christians	Peñarol
WI	Nicolás Freitas	Carrasco Polo	Peñarol
WI	Leandro Leivas	Toronto Arrows (CA)	Toronto Arrows (CA)

FB	Gastón Mieres	Toronto Arrows (CA)	Toronto Arrows (CA)
FB	Rodrigo Silva	Austin Elite (US)	Austin Herd (US)

 

USA

The Eagles were able to name a fully professional squad for the first team ever at the tournament, though there might be an asterisk beside James Hilterbrand who plays in the semi-pro Shute Shield. Two resident sevens players bolstered the 14-strong MLR contingent with the rest based abroad.

Shaun Davies has confirmed his retirement and is now a coach at Utah. His Raptors halfback mate Will Magie signed for London Scottish. John Quill has said goodbye to the Eagles and appears to be leaving professional rugby entirely with no contract currently signed.

Malon Al-Jiboori has left the Raptors and returned to Chula Vista to press for a spot at the Olympics. Mike Te’o has also joined the sevens residency program though he will suit up for the San Diego Legion in MLR when available.

Two notables, however, have yet to reveal their destination. Ben Landry may be eyeing a spot as a medical joker in Europe, while Blaine Scully has returned stateside but has not publicly committed to an MLR club or the sevens program.

POS

NAME

PRE-RWC

POST-RWC

LH	David Ainu’u	Toulouse (FR)	Toulouse (FR)
LH	Eric Fry	Vannes (FR)	Vannes (FR)
LH	Olive Kilifi	Seattle Seawolves	Seattle Seawolves
LH	Change Wenglewski	Rugby United New York	Rugby ATL

HO	Dylan Fawsitt	Rugby United New York	Rugby United New York
HO	James Hilterbrand	Manly Marlins (AU)	Manly Marlins (AU)
HO	Joe Taufete’e	Worcester Warriors (UK)	Worcester Warriors (UK)

TH	Titi Lamositele	Saracens (UK)	Saracens (UK)
TH	Paul Mullen	Houston SaberCats	San Diego Legion

LO	Nate Brakeley	Rugby United New York	Rugby United New York
LO	Nick Civetta	Doncaster Knights (UK)	Vannes (FR)
LO	Ben Landry	Ealing Trailfinders (UK)
LO	Greg Peterson	Bordeaux Begles (FR)	Newcastle Falcons (UK)

FL	Malon Al-Jiboori	Glendale Raptors	USA Sevens
FL	Hanco Germishuys	Glendale Raptors	Colorado Raptors
FL	Tony Lamborn	Melbourne Rebels (AU)	Blues (NZ)
FL	Ben Pinkelman	USA Sevens	USA Sevens
FL	John Quill	Rugby United New York

N8

Cam Dolan

NOLA Gold

NOLA Gold

SH	Nate Augspurger	San Diego Legion	San Diego Legion
SH	Shaun Davies	Glendale Raptors	Utah Warriors (coach)
SH	Ruben de Haas	Free State Cheetahs (SA)	Free State Cheetahs (SA)

FH	AJ MacGinty	Sale Sharks (UK)	Sale Sharks (UK)
FH	Will Magie	Glendale Raptors	London Scottish (UK)

CE	Bryce Campbell	London Irish (UK)	London Irish (UK)
CE	Paul Lasike	Harlequins (UK)	Harlequins (UK)
CE	Thretton Palamo	Houston SaberCats	Old Glory DC

WI/CE	Marcel Brache	Western Force (AU)	Western Force (AU)
WI	Martin Iosefo	USA Sevens	USA Sevens
WI	Blaine Scully	Cardiff Blues (UK)

FB	Will Hooley	Bedford Blues (UK)	Bedford Blues (UK)
FB	Mike Te’o	San Diego Legion	San Diego Legion

 

PRO vs AMATEUR

An unprecedented number of Americas players were professional heading into the tournament – 83% of those selected for Japan. That number is now higher and it’s likely that 2020 will see close to 100% of those playing for the four World Cup countries coming from professional outfits. Canada was already in a position to do so prior to RWC 2019 while the majority of Uruguay’s selections this coming year will come from Peñarol, MLR, and Europe.

If the MLR and SLAR both progress as planned, it is reasonable to assume that amateurs playing international rugby for those four leading sides will become a rarity in this World Cup cycle. Even Americas Rugby Championship members Chile and Brazil will be largely comprised of professionals both domestic and abroad.

STATUS

PRE-RWC

POST-RWC

SIGNED	108	115
Argentina	31	32
Canada	31	28
Uruguay	14	26
USA	32	29

UNSIGNED	22	14
Argentina	1	0
Canada	4	6
Uruguay	17	5
USA	0	3

 

DIVISIONAL BREAKDOWN

The shift from overseas professionals to those based domestically was well and truly accelerated over the past four years. Of the 108 professionals at RWC 2019, 73 were based in the Americas. There are now 115 of them signed with 81 spread between MLR, the Jaguares, SLAR, and the World Sevens Series.

DIVISION

PRE-RWC

POST-RWC

Major League Rugby	42	37
Super Rugby	30	25
English Premiership	6	8
English Championship	6	4
Top 14	6	7
Pro D2	4	7
Guinness Pro 14	4	2
World Sevens	3	5
National One	3	0
Fédérale 1	2	2
Global Rapid Rugby	1	1
Shute Shield	1	1
Súper Liga	–	16

*Mike Te’o considered part of MLR for the above