Spain national rugby union team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Spain
Federación Española de Rugby.jpg
Union Spanish Rugby Federation
Nickname(s) El XV del Leon, Los Leones
Emblem(s) The Lion
Coach(es) New Zealand Bryce Bevin
Captain(s) Spain César Sempere
Most caps Francisco Puertas Soto (93)
Team kit
Change kit
First international
 Italy 0 - 9 Spain 
(May 20, 1929)
Largest win
 Czech Republic 8 - 90 Spain 
(April 2, 1995)
Largest defeat
 Australia 92 - 10 Spain 
(September 1, 2001)
World Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1999)
Best result No games won

The Spain national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Spain, representing them at rugby union. Spain have been playing rugby since the late 1920s, playing their first international against Italy in 1929. They have qualified for one Rugby World Cup, in 1999 where they were pooled with Scotland, South Africa and Uruguay. Spain have also in the past contested the European Nations Cup. Spain plays in red and blue colours.

Contents

History [edit]

Early history [edit]

Spain playing the Czech Republic

A Spanish XV played France, including Yves du Manoir, in 1927, but it was organised by a rebel governing body.[1]

Spain played their first officially recognised match in 1929, winning 9-0 over Italy in the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc.[1]

Throughout the 1930s the Spanish contested games against other European sides, winning the majority of them, losing only to Germany. The national Spanish rugby team did not participate in any rugby during the 1940s.

The Spanish returned in 1951, and throughout the decade found moderate success. Though the side lost regularly to sides such as West Germany. The side found success in the earlier years of the 1960s, though there was a lack of games played during the 1963-5. The latter half of the decade saw the Spanish win most of their fixtures against neighbouring European sides.

Spain competed regularly against sides such as Portugal, Romania, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Morocco and Czechoslovakia.

During the early 1980s Spain played Argentina for the first time, as well as consistently playing their old European rivals, New Zealand Māori also played the Spanish in 1982, Spain did however lose the match by over 60 points, and again in 1988, at Seville, losing by a minor margin, 12-22. Spain played the Soviet Union as well as other new opponents during the decade, including Zimbabwe, whom the Spanish played several times during the mid-1980s. In 1994 the Spanish played rugby heavy-weights, Wales, who won by over 50 points.

Professional era [edit]

During the mid to late 1990s, Spain completed a nine game winning streak, winning games against nine different European sides.

Spain began their quest for 1999 Rugby World Cup qualification in Pool 3 of Round B of the European qualification. They won all four of their games in the round, finishing first in the group above Portugal. They, along with Portugal advanced to the next pool round with Scotland. They finished second and qualified for their first Rugby World Cup.

For the 1999 Rugby World Cup, Spain were in Pool A, along with Scotland, South Africa and Uruguay. Their first ever World Cup game was played against Uruguay, with Spain losing 27-15. They lost their subsequent pool games to Scotland and the Springboks by 40 points, both of which were played at Murrayfield. They failed to score a try in the tournament, the only team in the World to have qualified but not scored a try in the World cup.

Spain began 2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying games in May 2002. Spain advanced to Round 3 after defeating Portugal. However, here they lost to both Italy and Romania, and moved through to face Russia for a place in the repechage competition. They defeated Tunisia and moved onto face the USA, who won the round and qualified into the World Cup.

For the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Spain finished at the top of Pool A or Round 2 of the European qualification and advanced to Round 3 where they went into Pool A. Here they won all four fixtures to finish at the top and advance to the play-off. There they faced Germany, and although they lost the first game, they won the second and went through on a 42-28 aggregate and went into Round 4 where they defeated the Czech Republic to enter Round 5. However they lost out to Romania and Georgia in Pool B, ending their hopes of reaching the World Cup in France.

Spain missed the qualification for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Spain entered the top 20 in the IRB ranking in February 2012 for the first time following a 25-18 win over the higher ranked Georgia, and Spain remained in the top 20 throughout the year, ending 2012 ranked 18th.[2]

Record [edit]

Spain playing Portugal.

Their Test record against all nations, updated 30 June 2012:

Against Played Won Drawn Lost Win %
 Andorra 3 3 0 0 100%
 Argentina 4 0 0 4 0%
 Australia 1 0 0 1 0%
 Australia Emerging 1 0 1 0 0%
 Belgium 14 12 1 1 85.71%
Barbarians.png Barbarians 1 0 0 1 0%
 Canada 1 0 0 1 0%
 Chile 3 1 0 2 33.33%
 Croatia 2 1 1 0 50%
 Denmark 1 1 0 0 100%
 England A 7 0 0 7 0%
 England Counties 1 0 0 1 0%
 Royal Air Force rugby team 4 0 2 2 0%
 Fiji 1 0 0 1 0%
 France 24 0 0 24 0%
 France A 2 0 0 2 0%
 France U 2 1 0 1 50%
 French protectorate of Morocco 4 1 1 2 25%
 Georgia 12 3 1 8 25%
 Germany 7 6 0 1 85.71%
 Hungary 1 1 0 0 100%
 Italy 27 3 1 23 11.11%
 Japan 2 0 0 2 0%
 Moldova 1 1 0 0 100%
 Morocco 17 10 1 6 58.82%
 Namibia 2 2 0 0 100%
 Netherlands 13 12 1 0 92.31%
 New Zealand Services 2 0 0 2 0%
 Poland 16 10 0 6 62.50%
 Portugal 34 23 1 10 67.65%
 Czech Republic 8 2 0 6 75%
 Czechoslovakia 5 2 1 2 40%
 Romania 29 2 0 27 6.90%
 Russia 16 2 0 14 12.50%
 Scotland 8 0 0 8 0%
 Slovenia 1 1 0 0 100%
 South Africa 1 0 0 1 0%
 South Africa "A" 1 0 0 1 0%
 Soviet Union 7 0 0 7 0%
 Sweden 2 2 0 0 100%
 Switzerland 1 1 0 0 100%
 Tunisia 6 1 0 5 83.33%
 Ukraine 2 2 0 0 100%
 Uruguay 6 3 0 3 50%
 United States 3 0 0 3 0%
 Wales 1 0 0 1 0%
 Wales A 3 0 0 3 0%
 West Germany 12 7 1 4 33.33%
 Yugoslavia 4 4 0 0 100%
 Zimbabwe 7 5 0 2 71.43%
Total 333 125 13 195 37.54%

European Nations Cup [edit]

See also: European Nations Cup (rugby union)
Year(s) Games Won Drew Lost +/- Points Position
2000 4 2 0 2 94-86 8 3rd
2001 5 2 0 3 118-128 9 4th
2001-02 10 3 0 7 246-247 16 4th
2003-04 10 0 1 9 129-335 11 6th*
2005-06 DNP -- -- -- ---- -- --*
2007-08 10 4 0 6 233-240 18 4th
2008-10 10 2 0 8 145-304 14 5th
2010-12 10 5 0 5 225-275 26 3rd

Notes:

  • Spain's finish of 6th (last) in the 2003-04 competition meant Spain was relegated to Division 2 for the 2005-06 season. Spain won the Division 2 competition in 2005-06, resulting in their promotion back to the First Division.

2012-2014 European Nations Cup [edit]

Match Results
Date Home Score Away Venue
2-Feb-2013  Russia 13-9  Spain Sochi
9-Feb-2013  Belgium 21-21  Spain Brussels
23-Feb-2013  Spain 15-25  Romania Gijón
9-Mar-2013  Georgia 61-18  Spain Tblisi
16-Mar-2013  Spain 9-9  Portugal Santiago de Compostela
 [[ {{{altlink}}}|]] -  [[ {{{altlink}}}|]]
 [[ {{{altlink}}}|]] -  [[ {{{altlink}}}|]]
 [[ {{{altlink}}}|]] -  [[ {{{altlink}}}|]]
 [[ {{{altlink}}}|]] -  [[ {{{altlink}}}|]]
 [[ {{{altlink}}}|]] -  [[ {{{altlink}}}|]]

Rugby World Cup record [edit]

World Cup record World Cup Qualification record
Year Finished P W D L F A P W D L F A
AustraliaNew Zealand 1987 Not invited -
United KingdomRepublic of IrelandFrance 1991 Did not qualify 6 4 0 2 159 94
South Africa 1995 5 4 0 1 179 94
Wales 1999 Pool Stage 3 0 0 3 18 122 6 5 0 1 182 144
Australia 2003 Did not qualify 9 2 0 7 158 359
France 2007 14 10 1 3 528 224
New Zealand 2011 10 2 0 8 145 304
England 2015 To be determined - - - - - -
Japan 2019 To be determined
Total 1/6 3 0 0 3 18 122 50 27 1 22 1351 1219

Current squad [edit]

Spain squad for the November test matches against Zimbabwe and Namibia. Numerous French based players were unavailable due to club commitments.


Forwards
Player
 Position Club Club competition
Juan Anaya Hooker Spain Atlético de Madrid División de Honor
Beñat Auzqui Hooker France Tyrosse Fédérale 1
Joe Hutchinson Prop France Bourg-en-Bresse Fédérale 1
Jesús Moreno Prop France Limoges Fédérale 1
Alejandro Blanco Lock Spain Vigo División de Honor
Jesús Recuerda Lock France Lille Fédérale 1
Matthew Cook Flanker Spain La Vila División de Honor
Jon Magunazelaia Flanker Spain Bizkaia Gernika División de Honor
Matías Tudela Flanker Spain Ordizia División de Honor
Lionel Pardo Number eight France Béziers Pro D2
Backs
Player
 Position Club Club competition
Pablo Feijóo (c) Scrum-half Spain Bera Bera División de Honor B
Jaime Nava Fly-half France Bourg-en-Bresse Fédérale 1
Carlos Blanco Centre Spain Vigo División de Honor
Javier Canosa Centre Spain Atlético de Madrid División de Honor
Jaike Carter Centre Spain El Salvador División de Honor
Corey Smith Centre Spain Ciencias División de Honor
Javier Carrión Wing Spain La Vila División de Honor
Matías Tudela Wing Spain Ordizia División de Honor
Oier Garmendia Fullback Spain Hernani División de Honor
César Sempere Fullback Spain El Salvador División de Honor

Notable players [edit]

See also [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Spain national rugby union team

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Richards, Huw A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union (Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84596-255-5); Chapter 6, Gathering Storms, p129
  2. ^ IRB.com, 2012 in review: Highs and lows in rankings, Jan. 7, 2013, http://www.irb.com/rankings/news/newsid=2064835.html
Governing body
National teams
Competitions
Related articles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spain_national_rugby_union_team&oldid=548846440"