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Player movement from Argentina to Europe continues with the Newcastle Red Bulls recruiting Francisco Moreno. Local sources from Tucumán detail that the recent Pumas debutant will continue his career in the English Premiership after the upcoming home series against Australia.
The move sees Moreno making the step up from Super Rugby Americas to the elite level. He played for Los Tarucas this past season and his prior experience includes playing for Brazil’s professional team, Os Cobras. The Tucumano comes from the Universitario de Tucumán club.
Moreno is presently training with Los Pumas for the final two home matches this year. Argentina face the Wallabies in Jujuy on August 29 and Mendoza on September 05. Moreno will move to Newcastle after these two fixtures.
His call-up to Los Pumas came with many players. There is no Rugby Championship this year and agreements with clubs see different players selected at different times. Regular starting tight head, Joel Sclavi has joined the Leicester Tigers from La Rochelle.
Sclavi and Moreno are both highly regarded in the scrum. They are also both heavy players. Moreno’s frame of 1.85m and 147kg makes him a heavy-weight tight head prop. His debut for Argentina against South Africa saw him winning a penalty in the first scrum and earning praise for his performance.
The arrival of Moreno at the Newcastle Falcons comes after fellow Pumas tight head prop, Eduardo Bello has left the club to join Ulster. Notwithstanding, Moreno will be up against fellow Pumas tight head props in the English Premiership including Joel Sclavi and Pedro Delgado.
The Newcastle Red Bulls have four Pumas on their roster for the upcoming season. Moreno joins Franco Molina, Simón Benítez Cruz, and Benjamín Elizalde.
