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Pumas captain Pablo Matera will move to France following the 2020 Super Rugby season. He will leave the Jaguares at the conclusion of his contract with the UAR to join fellow Argentina stars Ramiro Herrera and Nicolás Sánchez at Stade Français. The deal will last through the end of the 2021-2022 season and will reportedly make Matera one of the highest paid players at the club.
Having played in each of the first three seasons of the Jaguares Matera took over the Super Rugby captaincy from Agustín Creevy in 2018, then taking the same role for Los Pumas for the November tour. Ironically Creevy himself has been targeted by Stade Français though he has opted to re-sign with the UAR for 2019.
Matera’s move is another nail in the UAR’s ill-conceived policy of leaving out their European players. Since 2016 the likes of Juan Imhoff, Marcelo Bosch, and more recent departures Facundo Isa and Santiago Cordero have been ignored by selectors, a decision that has come under constant criticism from media, fans, and prominent Argentine rugby figures since its inception.
That policy, created to retain players for the Jaguares, has backfired with dramatic effect at international level and has been rolled back somewhat by Mario Ledesma in 2018. With his captain heading out the door and an increasing number of high level players being targeted by French clubs the UAR may finally be forced to open the doors completely for their foreign legion.
