Manuel Ardao Ferres (born 9 September 1998) is a

Uruguayan Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while borderi ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who generally plays as a

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

, he plays for

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neig ...

in the Super Rugby Americas, he represents

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

internationally.

Career

Old Christians Club

Ardao began his career at Old Christians Club, following in the footsteps of his brother Diego Ardao, He was part of the team that won the national championship in 2019.

Peñarol

In 2020 he gained a professional contract at

. He played his first game on March 4, 2020 against Selknam. This match also turns out to be the last of the season, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the following year he featured again for Peñarol, with Peñarol reaching the final of the Superliga Americana de Rugby losing to Jaguares XV 36-28. Ardao started in the next two finals for Peñarol winning both. He was named MVP for the 2022 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season.

International career

Manuel Ardao plays with the Uruguay under-20 team in 2017 and 2018, as part of the

World Rugby U20 Trophy The World Rugby Under 20 Trophy (known as the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy until 2014) is an international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 8 men's junior national t ...

. In 2017, his team finished third in the competition. The following year, his team finished in fifth place, but Ardao distinguished himself by scoring six tries in four games. He made his international debut for Uruguay against Fiji on 17 November 2018. He was included in the Uruguayan squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

held in Japan marking his first World Cup appearance. He featured in two of Uruguay's games.

Honours

Old Christians Club

* Uruguayan National Championship, 2019

Peñarol

* Super Rugby Americas, 2022, 2023

Personal

* MVP for the 2022 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ardao, Manuel 1998 births Living people Uruguayan rugby union players Uruguay international rugby union players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Montevideo Peñarol Rugby players Rugby union flankers People educated at Stella Maris College (Montevideo) 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players Miami Sharks (rugby union) players