The Toronto Arrows re-signed Uruguay fullback Gastón Mieres for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. He is 29-years-old (30 in October), 5’11”, and weighs 178 lbs.
Gaston played in three matches as part of the shortened 2020 season and has made 13 appearances over his two years with the club. The speedy back has scored eight tries, running for 952 carry meters, 17 linebreaks, and added five tackle breaks and offloads apiece in 2019 and 2020.
Gastón was born and raised in Punta del Este, Uruguay. He began playing rugby at a young age for Lobos, the local area club.
Gastón Mieres & Uruguay National Team
He progressed through the Uruguay age-grade system and debuted for the Senior National team on May 13, 2010, against Brazil. Since then he has played in 70 Uruguay national matches, starting 60 of them. Three of the 2018 matches were against Argentina XV (twice) and Emerging Italy (twice), all as a starter. He has scored 65 points through 13 tries.
Gastón has played in several Sudamerica Championships, Nations Cups, Americas Rugby Championships, and also played in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, starting all four matches.
In 2018 the team prepared for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. He played for Uruguay A in the 2018 Americas Pacific Challenge and toured with the National team with November matches against the Cardiff Blues, Ulster, Fiji, and Romania. His last test was against Wales on 13 October 2019 at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Gastón Mieres & Uruguay Sevens
Gastón grew up in Punta del Este, which is known for its rugby sevens tournaments. He has played in the HSBC World Sevens Series in 7 tournaments, scoring 15 points through 3 tries. He also played in the 2017 Hong Kong Qualifier to see if Uruguay could gain core status.
Gastón also played in the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco, starting all four matches and scoring two tries.
Professional Rugby
Gastón Mieres signed his first professional contract in 2014 to play for Valpolicella in the Italian Series A competition. He then was offered a 20-week trial that concluded with a short contract with Coventry in 2015.
He then returned to Uruguay and to his club team, the Lobos.
Following the November tests, Gastón will join his new team, the Toronto Arrows for the 2019 Major League Rugby season. With the Arrows, he will provide experience and leadership.
He is among a number of Uruguay National team players that played in the MLR in 2019. This provided the high-performance opportunities that are necessary for the team to compete in the 2019 Rugby World Cup. During 2020, he was an asset to the Arrows and is expected to be a key contributor in 2021.
Toronto Arrows Comments
Arrows Vice President and General Manager Mark Winokur said “Gastón Mieres was deadly in his three matches in 2020 and is not only experienced at the back but a consistent line break threat and one we are very happy to have back.”
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