The Western Force will be the new home of Puma Franco Molina. The Western Australian Super Rugby franchise have signed Molina on a two year contract. The 27-year-old played the 2024-2025 season for the Exeter Chiefs in the English Premiership, making 17 appearances.
| LOS PUMAS – FRANCO MOLINA |
Franco Molina made his test debut for Argentina in July 2024 against France in Mendoza. Los Pumas were beaten 28-13. Molina was a replacement that day. Lucas Paulos and Matías Alemanno were the staying lock combination.
A week after debuting, Molina earned his second cap for Argentina. He started in Argentina’s 33-25 victory over France in Buenos Aires. Molina partnered Lucas Paulos in the second-row with Matías Alemanno and Pedro Rubiolo providing tandem lock replacements.
Molina’s third test cap was his first test match on foreign soil. He and Rubiolo were the starting second-row in Argentina’s 79-05 win over Uruguay in Punta del Este.
The Molina and Rubiolo combination started again together in Argentina’s opening match of the 2024 Rugby Championship. Los Pumas upset New Zealand in Wellington with Molina scoring his first test try. The 38-30 win featured tandem lock replacements with Tomás Lavanini and the debuting Efraín Elías.
Molina went on to play in all of Argentina’s test matches during his rookie season. He was a part of the team that made history by defeating all of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa during the same season for the first-time ever.
He opened 2025 by starting against the British & Irish Lions in Dublin, Ireland. Molina added the scalp of the Lions that day. He sat out the home July Internationals against England and Uruguay. This was strategic as her, and many others, were rested ahead of the 2025 Rugby Championship.
Molina’s debut cap was a celebration for Super Rugby Americas. It showed that a player could make the jump from the South American professional league to the top. Having gone on to be a regular he signed for the Exeter Chiefs with 6 test caps to his name. He moves to the Western Force with 12.
The Córdoba native captained Los Dogos won Super Rugby Americas 2024. The Córdoba side defeated Los Pampas in an all-Argentine final. Peñarol was critical in Uruguay building a team that could compete at Rugby World Cup 2023. Uruguay came away with a win over Namibia and had solid performances in losses against France and Italy.
Molina previously also played for Selknam. He was one of two Dogos who defeated the All Blacks in Wellington. The other was Efraín Elías who made his test debut as a replacement. Elías led Argentina at the World Rugby u20 Championship this year and he now plays for Toulouse.
Selknam was front-and-center as part of Chile’s road to debuting at the Rugby World Cup. The Super Rugby Americas team gave players a level of rugby that was previously unavailable. With it, Chile was able to lift their game to get past both Canada and the USA in qualifiers.
Molina was born in Córdoba in 1997. He is a product of Jockey Club Córdoba. Molina stands 1.98m (6ft-6) tall and weighs 118kg (260lbs).
Molina will be the only Argentine at the Western Force. Four other Pumas have previously played for the Perth-based Super Rugby franchise. None of them have played alongside Molina for Argentina.
Domingo Miotti joined the Western Force in 2021. He made 10 appearances for the club with the fly half leaving his mark. He scored the match-winner in the win over the Waratahs and also against the, now defunct, Melbourne Rebels. He moved to Scotland to join the Glasgow Warriors before moving to France to play for Oyoonnax and now for Montpellier.
Tight head prop Santiago Medrano played for the Western Force from 2020-2024. He made 50 appearances for the club. He now plays for Vannes in France. The team was relegated to the Pro D2 for the 2025-2026 season.
Flanker Tomás Lezana played for the Western Force in 2020-2021 before moving to Wales to play for the Scarlets and from there to France. At the Western Force, Lezana made 5 appearances.
Scrum-half Tomás Cubelli also played for the Western Force in 2020-2021. He made 13 appearances for the Western Force. He previously played for the Brumbies, making 18 appearances.
