Major League Rugby is set to see an influx of South American internationals, per multiple sources both state-side and from the southern Americas continent. Among them is outstanding Uruguayan scrumhalf Santiago Arata who is closing in on a move to Texas with the Houston SaberCats thought to be leading the race for his signature.

Other leading Teros understood to be in advanced talks to play in the professional competition in 2019 are second row Ignacio Dotti and midfielder Santiago Vilaseca. They may well be joined by more with Uruguay keen to expose their top senior players to a higher level of domestic competition ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

Uruguay will not be the only South American country to provide talent in the coming season. Brazil and Chile could send players north if visa applications are successful. There are currently no Brazilians in MLR with Chile providing two players to New Orleans, Nikola Bursic and US-eligible Sebastián Kalm.

Further Latin presence may come from Mexico. There have been discussions of adding a Mexican franchise in the future but in the meantime some of their best players are seeking employment with teams in the USA. World Rugby Vice-Chairman Agustín Pichot, now part of the USA Rugby Board, is involved in talks to facilitate the inclusion of Latin-American players.

Obtaining appropriate visas for potential signings remains the biggest obstacle for South American players. On the other hand opening the door for their involvement is an increase in foreign player limits from five players to ten for the 2019 season.

Should the administrative complications be overcome, the addition of Latin-American players would be a significant boost to the league. Not only would the standard of players be welcome, it would also attract the eyes of the major emerging markets to the south. With a South American professional competition set to kick off in 2020 this can only be good news for the advancement of rugby in the Americas.