TRU's Player Profile - Manuel Montero

Manuel Montero, or “Panther” as he has been aptly nicknamed in his homeland of Argentina, is not just the latest Jonah Lomu-inspired, powerhouse winger to grace the pitches of world rugby, but rather Los Pumas’ greatest hope for establishing themselves as perennial challengers to the likes of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Argentinean packs have wreaked havoc against northern and southern hemisphere opposition alike for years now, but their sides have often lacked a lethal edge in the back line to truly exploit this strength of their game. Agustín Pichot and Felipe Contepomi did an admirable job of orchestrating Argentina’s 10-man game plan during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but with precious few game-breakers outside of them, it was through necessity rather than choice. This is where Montero steps in.   

The former basketball player, who stands a lofty 6’4” and weighs in at over 100kg, is the prototypical modern winger. Strong enough to break tackles, tall enough to go up and claim high balls and more than quick enough to make himself a real threat on the outside, Montero is built in the mould of George North and his ilk. He is the type of winger that Argentina have been crying out for, no pun intended, for years now. The likes of Lucas González Amorosino, Gonzalo Camacho and Horacio Agulla have all done respectable jobs for the Pumas over the recent years, but none of them offer the same dual-threat that Montero does.

At just 22 years of age, Montero already has 15 caps and 13 tries for Argentina, leaving him just a solitary try away from breaking into Argentina’s top ten all-time try scorers. Admittedly, nine of Montero’s tries have come against Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, but it was his performances against Ireland in June, and South Africa more recently in The Rugby Championship, that should have Argentinean fans salivating. 

The winger’s first taste of international rugby came in 2010, when he went head-to-head with the likes of Julian Savea, Christian Wade and Simon Zebo at the IRB Junior World Championships, and it was not too long before his significant potential was recognised, with Santiago Phelan giving him his full international debut two years later. Montero has now represented Argentina in their last three summer test series, scoring tries against Ireland, England and a game-winner against France.

At club level, Montero has represented the Pampas XV side in the Vodacom Cup previously, scoring eight tries in his 11 appearances, but he also shown remarkable loyalty to Club Pucará, his childhood team, by continuing to represent them despite receiving numerous professional offers from other quarters. That decision has cost him a place in Argentinean squads before, but his appearances for Argentina in this year’s TRC seem to suggest that the management are willing to show faith in him, wherever he happens to play his club rugby. 

There is now a really exciting group of young Argentinean players plying their trade in their homeland, including Martín Landajo, Santiago Cordero and Tomás de la Vega, but none will have the watching European and Super Rugby teams as intrigued as Montero. The Top 14 has always played host to plenty of Argentine imports, whilst Leicester Tigers have had considerable success with their own South American contingent, and despite Montero’s praiseworthy loyalty to  Club Pucará, it seems a case of when, rather than if he ultimately decides to leave Argentina.

Moves to Europe have helped many an Argentine player flourish and there is no reason why any prospective move for Montero would be any different. Training with and playing against a higher quality of player than he does day in, day out in Argentina will only help Montero take his game to the next level and provide the missing link that the Pumas have seemingly been searching for years now. Going forward, Montero looks set to be the spearhead of a very exciting Argentinean back three, alongside Joaquín Tuculet (25) and the aforementioned Cordero (20),.

Further tests against New Zealand and Australia beckon over the next month and should give a good indication of just how refined his game currently is, but he is certainly a player who you should have an eye on ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.