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Juan Martín González is a rising star in rugby. At just 22 years of age, the back-rower from Mendoza has tied to record for most Rugby Championship tries by an Argentine forward. González scored the match-winner for Los Pumas against the Wallabies in Sydney, Australia on Saturday.
The try was his fifth in the Rugby Championship. This saw him equal the mark set by Juan Manuel Leguizamón who scored 5 Rugby Championship tries from 28 appearances. González has scored 5 Rugby Championship tries from 13 appearances.
The prolific try scorer has seven test tries. He scored on debut for Argentina against Romania in Bucharest in 2021. He scored against Italy in Treviso later that year. His five subsequent tries have all come in the Rugby Championship.
González scored at home in Mendoza against Australia in 2021. He scored again against the same opposition in San Juan one week later. González scored next in Argentina’s historic first-ever win over the All Blacks in New Zealand. He also scored against South Africa in the 2022 loss in Durban.
In addition to having matches the five tries score by Leguizamón, González is closing in on the backs. Only three Argentine backs have more Rugby Championship tries than González. Emiliano Boffelli is the record holder with 7. Juan Imhoff and Nicolás Sánchez both have 6 Rugby Championship tries.
Meanwhile, González is unattached to a club. He played for London Irish from 2021-2023. The English Premiership club went bust with left players without a club. Fellow London Irish Puma Agustín Creevy has singed for the Sale Sharks while center Lucio Cinti has joined Saracens. González may well be the hottest property on the market.
