Former Glasgow Warriors player set to switch international allegiance

Miotti, 30, has enjoyed a highly successful season with Montpellier, helping them win the European Challenge Cup and reach the Top 14 final.

The Tucuman-born player has been capped by Argentina but looks set to change rugby nationalities. Felipe Contepomi, the Argentina coach, said that Miotti has had an offer from Italy.

World Rugby’s Regulation 8 allows international players to switch national teams once after a three-year ‘cooling off period’ if they have a “genuine, close, credible and established national link” to the second country through birth or their parents/grandparents.

Miotti was last capped in 2022 and is understood to have the necessary family link to Italy.

‘We support him’

“He has another opportunity, through Italy,” Contepomi is reported to have said. “We had a good conversation and we accept his decision. We support him, and I think it surely wasn’t easy.”

Miotti left Glasgow Warriors at the start of the 2023-24 season despite having recently signed a new contract with Franco Smith’s squad. He was allowed to leave after receiving an offer to play for Oyonnax in the French Top 14.

The fly-half, who had played for Glasgow in the 2023 Challenge Cup final defeat by Toulon, spent a season at Oyonnax before joining Montpellier where his team-mates include Ali Price, Stuart Hogg and Alex Masibaka.

Despite his good form for Montpellier, Miotti has been overlooked by Argentina and was not selected for this summer’s Nations Championship. The Pumas opened their campaign at home to Scotland last week, losing 47-38 in Cordoba.

Miotti, who has previously played Super Rugby for Jaguares and Western Force, joined Glasgow in 2021. He started for Montpellier in their Challenge Cup final win over Ulster in Bilbao in May and in their Top 14 final loss to Toulouse in Paris last month.

His last Argentina cap came in the 29-6 home loss to Scotland in Salta in the second Test of the 2022 summer tour.