Exeter confirm their signing of 'valuable asset' Franco Molina

Exeter have confirmed the signing of Argentina lock Franco Molina four weeks after RugbyPass exclusively reported that the 27-year-old would be joining the Devon-based Gallagher Premiership club.

The second row has just completed his first involvement in The Rugby Championship, making six appearances for Los Pumas – three as a starter – and was a second half try-scorer in his country’s August 10 win over the All Blacks in Wellington.

Exeter were in the market for a lock following the shoulder and knee operations to Wales’ Dafydd Jenkins ahead of the 2024/25 Premiership season which has started with two successive defeats for the Chiefs.

A statement read: “Exeter Chiefs have recruited talented Argentinian international lock Franco Molina for the 2024/25 season. The Puma powerhouse arrives in Devon having never played club rugby outside of South America before.

“The second rower joins the ranks at Sandy Park from Super Liga Americana de Rugby side Dogos XV, where he has made 23 appearances. Prior to his time with the Cordoba-based side, he plied his trade with the Jaguares as well as a spell in Chile with Selknam.

“Originally added to his first Argentina roster in 2022, 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.

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

Exeter director of Rugby Rob Baxter said: “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 is here with us now and we are 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 – he will 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 added: “I signed for Exeter because I wanted to go to a club that is really competitive and that makes me continue to improve as a player. 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.”