Warriors sign Puma try-thief
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:25
Glasgow Warriors confirmed on Tuesday that Argentina's all-time leading try-scorer, Jose Maria Nunez Piossek, has signed with the club, subject to him obtaining a visa and passing a medical.
Warriors head coach Sean Lineen was thrilled with the latest international addition to his squad.
"I'm delighted to have Jose on board. He's an experienced internationalist and definitely knows where the try-line is," said Lineen.
"He is a pretty important signing in terms of the experience he'll bring to the squad, he's also very good value for money.
"He's a tough player looking for rugby and will bring a bit of balance to the squad because we need to manage the game time of our Scotland internationalists.
"I'm also looking for Jose to be a big influence on our young Scottish players such as Chris Kinloch, Ruaridh Jackson and Peter Horne who is aligned to Glasgow from the National Academy," he added.
In a seven year international career, Piossek's most recent appearances for the Pumas include the victory over Scotland in the first inbound Test in Rosario, and the defeat to South Africa in Cape Town, a game which was part of Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebrations in August.
A close friend and international colleague of current Firhill favourite Bernardo Stortoni, Piossek made his Argentina debut in 2001 against Uruguay and won his second cap in the same year against the All Blacks.
In 2002, he played in four Tests against Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Australia.
He scored an unprecedented nine tries in the Pumas' 144-0 victory over Paraguay in April 2003, earning him a place in the national squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
He played in four Tests the following year and was capped twice in 2005. He also featured in Tests against Wales and the All Blacks in 2006.
magnersleague.com
