Jerónimo de la Fuente (born 24 February 1991) is an Argentine professional
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player who plays as a
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
for
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...
club
Perpignan
Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...
De la Fuente began his club career in his native Argentina for the
Duendes Rugby Club
Duendes Rugby Club is an Argentine rugby union and field hockey club sited in Rosario, Santa Fe. The rugby team currently plays at Torneo del Litoral, the first division of the Unión de Rugby de Rosario (URR) league system.
History
Duendes Rug ...
in his home city of
Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
. He earned selection for the
Pampas XV
Pampas XV is an Argentine professional rugby union team that currently competes in Super Rugby Americas.2013 Vodacom Cup in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and also for their tour of Australia in 2014.
De la Fuente played for the from 2016 to 2020, when he moved to France to play for
USA Perpignan
Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, Franc ...
.
International career
De la Fuente played for Argentina Under-20 at the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship.
He then played further representative rugby for the Argentina Jaguars and the Pumas 7s throughout 2012 and 2013.
De la Fuente made his senior international debut in 2014. His first appearance for Los Pumas came on 17 May 2014 against , he followed that up a week later with a try on his second international appearance against . He was then selected in the Pumas squad for the
2014 mid-year rugby union internationals The 2014 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) were international rugby union matches mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the June international window.
These matches w ...
in which he appeared twice in losses to , but was left out for their final match against . Despite this he was named in the 30-man squad for the
2014 Rugby Championship
The 2014 Rugby Championship was the third edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The tournament was won by New Zealand, with South Africa second, Aus ...
. He was not initially selected for the Pumas opening match against the
Springboks
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
, however a late injury to
Juan Martín Hernández
Juan Martín Hernández (born August 7, 1982, in Buenos Aires) is a retired Argentine rugby union player. A mainstay of the Argentina national team ''The Pumas''. He played for the club Toulon in the French Top 14 competition. His 2010 move to ...
saw De la Fuente promoted to the replacements bench and he made his championship debut as a second-half substitute in a 6-13 loss.