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Argentina have recalled Juan Imhoff for the Rugby Championship. The Racing 92 winger was last capped by Argentina at RWC 2015. His only appearances for his country since then have been in Rugby 7’s. He represented Argentina at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Imhoff’s non-selection from 2015-2019 was not about rugby quality; he was left out due to politics. The UAR looked to champion their home-based players. This saw the Super Rugby players (Jaguares) receiving total priority. Only on a rare occasion did any player based abroad receive a cap from 2015-2019.
This brought with it both benefits and problems. Imhoff continued to star in the Top 14 and Champions Cup. Meanwhile, wingers in Argentina received opportunities for Los Pumas. Bautista Delguy and Emiliano Boffelli both graduated with honors, though there were also cases of players being used out of position.
Imhoff will play in the 2020 Rugby Championship in Australia. The Rosario speedster has 33 caps and 16 test tries. He joins fellow Top 14 wingers Santiago Cordero and Ramiro Moyano on the roster. Unlike Cordero and Moyano, Imhoff never played for Los Jaguares.
Imhoff is the only player in history to score a hat-trick against South Africa. He also scored in Argentina’s first Rugby Championship win over Australia in 2014.
He has 89 tries for Racing 92; no Argentina player has scored as many. He has played 181 matches for the Parisians.
