2019 Super Rugby Jaguares: Where are they now?

23 months ago Argentina’s Jaguares competed in the 2019 Super Rugby Final against the Crusaders. 23 players took to the field for Los Jaguares in the final while a total of 40 players received game time in the 2019 season. Where are the players now?

As demonstrated there has been a player exodus. This has happened despite Argentina having been close to confirming a second Super Rugby franchise.

Below we take a position-by-position look at the players from the 2019 season, where they are playing now, and where they will be next season.

 

FRONT ROW

POS	Player Jaguares 2019	Current Season	Next Season
LH Prop	Santiago García Botta Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro Mayco Vivas	Harlequins (UK) Bristol Bears (UK) Unattached	Harlequins (UK) Benetton (IT) Unattached
Hooker	Gaspar Baldunciel Agustín Creevy Julián Montoya Santiago Socino	Unattached London Irish (UK) Leicester Tigers (UK) Gloucester (UK)	Unattached London Irish (UK) Leicester Tigers (UK) Gloucester (UK)
TH Prop	Santiago Medrano Enrique Pieretto Lucio Sordoni Juan Pablo Zeiss	Western Force (AU) Glasgow Warriors (UK) Melbourne Rebels (AU) Jaguares XV	Western Force (AU) Glasgow Warriors (UK) Unattached Unattached

Santiago García Botta left Argentina to return to Europe before the end of the 2019 season. He was out of favor at the time with Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro’s move from tight head to loose head making him the regular starter. Rookie Mayco Vivas was his understudy. Vivas is presently sidelined following surgery. He will be back on the roster for Argentina when fit again.

Four players featured at hooker for Los Jaguares in 2019. Three of them are now in England. The exception is Gaspar Baldunciel who was flown over to South Africa as a medical joker where he made one Super Rugby appearance. Santiago Socino arrived from England for the final matches of the 2019 regular season. He has since returned and has a long-term deal with Gloucester.

Santiago Medrano was the first-choice tight head for the 2019 Jaguares. He has since moved to Perth, Western Australia and will remain there next season. Enrique Pieretto is on a long-term deal in Scotland while Lucio Sordoni is seeing out his one season deal with the Melbourne Rebels. Juan Pablo Zeiss turned-down offers to remain in Argentina to play SLAR.

 

SECOND ROW

POS	Player Jaguares 2019	Current Season	Next Season
LO	Matías Alemanno Tomás Lavanini Lucas Paulos Guido Petti	Gloucester (UK) Leicester Tigers (UK) Brive (FR) Bordeaux (FR)	Gloucester (UK) Clermont (FR) Unattached Bordeaux (FR)

All four second-rowers moved abroad. Tomás Lavanini did so following RWC 2019. He will continue his career next season in France. It marks a return after he previously played for Racing 92. Guido Petti is also in France now while Matías Alemanno is in England. All three men have long-term deals to remain in Europe. Lucas Paulos arrived at Brive as a medical joker. He has had a strong season and is expected to extent his contract.

BACK ROW

POS	Players Jaguares 2019	Current Season	Next Season
FL	Francisco Gorrissen Marcos Kremer Juan Manuel Leguizamón Tomás Lezana Pablo Matera	Jaguares XV Stade Français (FR) RUNY (U.S) Western Force (AU) Stade Français (FR)	Unattached Stade Français (FR) Unattached Scarlets (UK) Crusaders (NZ)
N8	Rodrigo Bruni Javier Ortega Desio	Vannes (FR) Unattached	Vannes (FR) Unattached

Francisco Gorrissen was the one 2019 Jaguares back-rower who also played SLAR in 2021. Javier Ortega Desio has left the UAR’s High Performance system while veteran Juan Manuel Leguizamón signed for the Seattle Seawolves and then Rugby United New York.

The four others have their futures confirmed. Rodrigo Bruni and Marcos Kremer are locked into long-term deals in France; Pablo Matera will depart Stade Français for the Crusaders; and Tomás Lezana will move to West Wales from Western Australia.

HALF BACKS

POS	Players Jaguares 2019	Current Season	Next Season
SH	Gonzalo Bertranou Tomás Cubelli Felipe Ezcurra Martín Landajo	Dragons (UK) Western Force (AU) Jaguares XV Harlequins (UK)	Dragons (UK) Biarritz (FR) Unattached Harlequins (UK)
FH	Joaquín Díaz Bonilla Santiago González Iglesias Domingo Miotti	Leicester Tigers (UK) San Diego Legion (U.S) Western Force (AU)	Unattached Unattached Glasgow Warriors (UK)

2018 saw Martín Landajo go out of favor. In early 2019 he was in talks and confirmed his departure. He remains at the Harlequins. Gonzalo Bertranou made the move to the UK earlier this year while Tomás Cubelli will make his way to France from Australia next season.

Joaquín Díaz Bonilla started the 2019 Super Rugby Final at fly half. His move to the Leicester Tigers has not been so successful; he is off contract later this month. Santiago González Iglesias struggled for game time in 2019. He now plays Major League Rugby and played in Japan last season.

Domingo Miotti made his Pumas debut in 2020. He is the official understudy to Nicolás Sánchez. Miotti has impressed in Super Rugby AU for the Western Force in 2021 and will continue his career in Scotland next season.

 

MIDFIELD

POS	Player Jaguares 2019	Current Season	Next Season
CE	Jerónimo de la Fuente Bautista Ezcurra Juan Cruz Mallía Matías Moroni Matías Orlando	Perpignan (FR) Rugby ATL (U.S) Toulouse (FR) Leicester Tigers (UK) Newcastle Falcons (UK)	Perpignan (FR) Grenoble (FR) Unattached Leicester Tigers (UK) Newcastle Falcons (UK)

All five 2019 Jaguares centers departed Argentina Four of them have their playing future secured for next season. The one yet to finalize his 2021 location is Juan Cruz Mallía. The Córdoba center scored the winning try for Toulouse in the 2021 European Champions Cup Final. He is expected to sign an extension.

Bautista Ezcurra was a starting center in 2018 but fell out of favor in 2019. The search for bigger men saw Ezcurra overlooked. He has impressed this season in Major League Rugby and will play in France next season. Veterans Jerónimo de la Fuente, Matías Moroni, and Matías Orlando all fit in well at their post-Jaguares clubs.

Moroni has made the Leicester Tigers 13 shirt his own. He has done so despite having been used predominantly in the Jaguares 14 shirt in 2019. His natural position is outside center and he, himself, has said that he where he prefers to play.

 

OUTSIDE BACKS

POS	Player Jaguares 2019	Current Season	Next Season
WI	Sebastián Cancelliere Santiago Carreras Bautista Delguy Ramiro Moyano	Jaguares XV Gloucester (UK) Bordeaux (FR) Toulon (FR)	Glasgow Warriors (UK) Gloucester (UK) Perpignan (FR) Unattached
FB	Emiliano Boffelli Joaquín Tuculet	Racing 92 (FR) Toronto Arrows (CA)	Racing 92 (FR) Toronto Arrows (CA)

There was muit-use of a number of outside backs in 2019. Both Moroni and Mallía featured as outside backs while 2020 Jaguares fullback, Santiago Carreras was a winger in 2019. Carreras now has a long-term deal with Gloucester. Ramiro Moyano is off contract at the season’s end with Toulon. His 2021-2022 club remains unconfirmed.

Sebastián Cancelliere will join the Glasgow Warriors for the new season. He does so after having been the top try scorer in the 2020 SLAR. Bautista Delguy has signed for Perpignan from Bordeaux. The move is on condition that Perpignan win promotion from the Pro D2 to the Top 14.

Finally, the 2019 fullbacks are now playing in the Top 14 and Major League Rugby. Emiliano Boffelli joined Racing 92 earlier this year while Joaquín Tuculet joined the Toronto Arrows. The latter has retired from international duty.