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English qualifed hooker Santiago Socino snubs Red Rose in favour of Puma dream
By Online Editors
Newcastle Falcons hooker Santiago Socino is returning to his native Argentina to join Super Rugby side, Jaguares.
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The 27-year-old made 34 first team appearances for the Falcons, of which nine were starts, and leaves with “the best wishes of the club”.
Director of rugby Dean Richards said: “Santi has ambitions to play international rugby for Argentina, and we have agreed to release him so that he can take up this opportunity in his homeland.
“We wish him the best of luck for his move to Jaguares, and hopefully we will see him pushing on and achieving his goal of playing for his country.”
The converted backrow is actually English-qualified after completing his residency period. In March 2019 he was visited by Argentina coach Mario Ledesma who was contacting European based players with potential to be selected internationally.
Socino’s move back to Argentina suggests that Ledesma has successfully convinced him to pursue his native Argentina and not England for international honours.
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Newcastle Falcons have been signing players despite their recent relegation to the Championship. Last week Centre Gareth Owen was revealed as joining the club, the Welshman signing from Leicester Tigers on a two-year deal.
Owen, 30, has spent the past two seasons with the Tigers, having previously played 72 games for the Scarlets and 50 for the Ospreys.
The Welshman becomes the Falcons’ fourth confirmed signing for next season following Exeter Chiefs lock Toby Salmon, USA lock Greg Peterson (Bordeaux-Begles), lock Darren Barry (Worcester Warriors), with England Under-20s back-rower Josh Basham having also arrived in recent weeks.
Season finale:
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The academy team’s hard work all year has led to this game – the final at Allianz Park against Gloucester. Watch the epic finale to our docu-series exclusively on RugbyPass.
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Well done in putting Eddie's stats into perspective Nick. I'd like to see the try/phase stats after discounting tries from rolling mauls and intercepts. Reminds me of the story Rocky Elsom once told about how the Edster figured out that scrums only take up an average of 8 minutes a game. Apparently our Messiah thus concluded that the team should only devote 8 minutes to the scrum at training!
Go to commentsYo Nicholas. The crowd at the Roar told me you'd quit and I'd find your column elsewhere. Great to see you're still on the job. I enjoyed this, and and no wonder I missed you. Over at the other place, on the day before you posted this, I commented on the game against the Reds: "Carter Gordon was another interesting player on the field, although his form wasn’t well showcased in the match, which isn’t to say he didn’t play well, only that he didn’t particularly star. I know virtually nothing about CG, and wonder if I’m seeing a tall thin 10 who holds the ball with both hands and likes to tackle, besides everything else … I dare not say who that reminds me of." I was scared of putting the mocker on him, but now you've said it! Are we seeing the ghost of Bernie? Early days, but he's certainly refreshing.
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