The Bristol Bears have signed Matías Moroni on a short-term deal. The club is bringing in Moroni from Argentina as a medical joker. Moroni join four other Pumas at: fullback Benjamín Elizalde, second-rower Pedro Rubiolo, and back-rowers Santiago Grondona and Benjamín Grondona.
The club is presently dealing with an injury crisis in their backs. AJ MacGinty, Harry Randall and Gabriel Ibitoye are out until 2025 while Louis Rees-Zammit, Joe Jenkins and Tom Jordan are also all sidelined.
The Bristol Bears will be Moroni’s fourth European club and third in the English Premiership. He previously played for the Leicester Tigers, Newcastle Red Bulls and in France for Brive. He was an English Premiership champion with the Leicester Tigers in 2022.
| CAREER – MATÍAS MORONI |
Moroni has 92 test caps for Los Pumas. He debuted against Scotland in 2014 and his most recent cap was against Uruguay this past July. He was not selected for the Rugby Championship. Felipe Contepomi opted for Justo Piccardo to cover the mid-field and Ignacio Mendy to cover wing.
The storied career of Moroni has seen him playing in three Rugby World Cups. He was a try scorer in the 2015 Quarter Final when Argentina eliminated Ireland. He also scored against Namibia in that World Cup and again against England at Rugby World Cup 2019. He received plenty of game time for Argentina at Rugby World Cup 2023. His try-saving tackle against Wales was vital to Argentina advancing to the Semi Finals.
2024 saw Moroni starting for Argentina in three different positions: outside center, wing and inside center. He played outside center against France in July and inside center against Ireland and France in November. He started on the right wing in Argentina’s win over New Zealand in Wellington. His natural position is outside center.
2024 saw Moroni overtaking a number of notable former Pumas including current Head Coach Felipe Contepomi (87 caps). Moroni now has 92 caps, making him the most capped center or outside Puma in history.
The 34-year-old Moroni was an inaugural Jaguar. He played for the Argentine Super Rugby franchise from 2016-2020. He then moved to England where he played for the Leicester Tigers from 2020-2022 and the Newcastle Falcons from 2022-2024. He joined Brive last season as a Medical Joker. It was his first time playing professional rugby in France. The Bristol Bears will be his third English Premiership club.
