Powerful Puma Lock Molina Signs for Chiefs

Exeter Chiefs have recruited the talented Argentinian international lock, Franco Molina, for the 2024/25 season.

The 27-year-old Puma powerhouse arrives in Devon having never played club rugby outside of South America before. He describes the prospect of a Gallagher Premiership debut as exciting opportunity to test his skillset.

“I signed for Exeter Chiefs because I wanted to go to a club that is really competitive and that makes me continue to improve as a player. I think the Chiefs are the right place for that.

“The prospect of playing in the Premiership really excites me, it’s a very difficult tournament that demands the maximum week by week. I can’t wait for my debut.

“This is going to be my first experience in English rugby, so I just hope to enjoy it to the fullest and play as many minutes as possible.”

The second rower joins the ranks at Sandy Park from Super Liga Americana de Rugby side, Dogos XV, who he has made 23 appearances for as captain of the side.

Prior to his time with the Cordoba-based side, he plied his trade with the well-known Jaguares outfit as well as a spell in Chile with Selknam.

Originally added to his first Argentina roster in 2022 – after an Argentina U20s career – Molina made his international test debut earlier this year against France in Mendoza.

Since then, he has featured for the Pumas in the Rugby Championship, including in the historic victory over New Zealand in August.

Director of Rugby Rob Baxter, who has had to deal with the blow of match captain Dafydd Jenkins being injured for the first block of the season, is delighted to have added more international talent to his squad in the Welshman’s absence.

“People are aware that we started the season with a couple of injuries, including a relatively long-term injury to Dafydd. At the start of the season, we were also assessing a possible injury to Christ Tshiunza and Lewis Pearson.

“So, we knew we were stretched and not overly resourced in the back five of the scrum anyway, so I started looking at potential options for a quality player who was ready to play.

“Franco was available, and he was easy to watch as he was playing for Argentina in the Rugby Championship. He showed some really good qualities playing in a very good Argentinian side.

“And so, he’s here with us now and we’re delighted he is getting up to speed straight away this week, so he should be available pretty quickly for us.

“I’m looking forward to seeing him play – I think he’ll be a valuable asset for us this season. And it gives him a great opportunity to play in the Premiership and test himself in Europe.”

Molina joins a group of six other Argentinians who have represented Exeter Chiefs, the most recent being Santiago Grondona during the 2022/23 season, though most notably Santiago Cordero was a part of Chiefs following their first Premiership triumph in 2017.