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Spain national rugby union team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Spain women's national rugby union team.

Spain
Shirt badge/Association crest
NicknameLos Leones (The Lions)
EmblemLion
UnionSpanish Rugby Federation
Head coachSantiago Santos
CaptainGauthier Gibouin
Most capsFrancisco Puertas (93)
Top scorerEsteban Roqué Segovia (285)
Top try scorerCésar Sempere (31)
Home stadiumEstadio Nacional Complutense
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current18 (as of 09 April 2020)
Highest16 (2019)
Lowest32 (2005)
First international
 Spain 9–0  Italy
(Barcelona, Spain; 20 May 1929)
Biggest win
 Spain 90–8  Czech Republic
(Madrid, Spain; 2 April 1995)
Biggest defeat
 Spain 10–92  Australia
(Madrid, Spain; 1 November 2001)
World Cup
Appearances1 (First in 1999)
Best resultPool stage, 1999
Websitewww.ferugby.es

The Spain national rugby union team (Spanish: Selección nacional de rugby de España) represents Spain in men's international rugby union competitions , nicknamed Los Leones, is administered by the Spanish Rugby Federation. The team annually takes part in the European Nations Cup, the highest European rugby championship outside the Six Nations. The national side is ranked 16th in the world (as of 9 February 2020).

Rugby union in Spain dates back to 1901, although Spain did not play its first international until 1929, beating Italy 9–0 in Barcelona. Throughout the century, Spain mostly played against other European opponents such as France, Italy, Romania, West Germany, the Soviet Union, and Portugal. The team's greatest moment of success came in 1999, when Spain qualified for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Despite being whitewashed, the team performed admirably in a group which included South Africa and Scotland.

Today, Spain competes in the European Nations Cup against Georgia, Germany, Portugal, Romania, and Russia. Spain has never been crowned European champions, though has come close. The closest they've come to becoming European champions was in 2012, having beaten both Romania and Georgia and finishing second. Many players have moved abroad to play professionally in France, in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 or possibly expanded 2023 editions of the World Cup.[1]

History

Early history and amateur era

The exact starting point of rugby union in Spain is unknown; Catalan student Baldiri Aleu introduced the game from France to a mainstream Spanish audience in 1921, but the game might have been played on Spanish soil earlier.[2] Through the 1920s, the game gradually gained popularity through universities in the country. The first Copa del Rey de Rugby was organized in 1926, and won by Barcelona. An unofficial Spanish XV played France, including Yves du Manoir, in 1927, but it was organised by a rebel governing body.[3]

Spain played their first officially recognised match in 1929, winning 9–0 over Italy in the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc.[3] During the 1930s the Spanish rugby team played sporadically in the 1930s, playing against the national teams of Italy, Morocco, Germany, and Portugal. Due to the outbreak of World War II, rugby in much of Europe was suspended, and this included Spain. Rugby operations throughout Europe were continued in the 1950s; through this decade the Spanish struggled to the likes of West Germany, Italy and Romania. This pattern of consistency continued somewhat in the 1960s and 1970s; Spain traditionally struggled versus more established opponents such as Romania and Italy, but beat other neighboring sides such as Portugal and Morocco. However, while no official games were played between Spain and the Home Nations or the SANZAR, some Spanish sides traveled to play against various foreign sides.[4]

The 1980s proved to be somewhat of a golden age for Spanish rugby; for the first time Spain played against non-FIRA competition, playing a test against both the Māori All Blacks as well as South American giants Argentina in November 1982, in Madrid. The Spanish were thrashed 66–3 to the Māori, but came close to upsetting Argentina, losing only 28 to 19. The Spanish also received Zimbabwe through various tests in the 80s. The Spanish recorded upsets, defeating Zimbabwe in Harare in 1984, winning 30–18.

World Cup begins (1987–2009)

Even more impressive, the Spanish swept a two-game tour in Zimbabwe, a team that had appeared in the 1987 Rugby World Cup, winning 28–16 and 14–9 in Bulawayo and Harare. Other notable results in this period included beating Uruguay 18–6, as well as giving scares to the sides of England and Scotland, and coming within 10 points of beating the Māori in 1988. By the end of the 80s, Spain was considered one of the best non-5 Nations teams in Europe, just barely behind Romania, Italy, and the Soviet Union. Spain officially joined the IRB in 1987, after not being invited for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, despite the USSR declining an invitation.

Spain playing against the Czech Republic in 2007.

The 1990s provided a mixed fortune of both near misses and eventual success. In the 1991 qualifying rounds, Spain easily toppled its first group consisting of the Netherlands, Poland and Belgium, all games being played at home. However, Spain very narrowly missed on qualifying for the Rugby World Cup, losing 19–6 against Romania, finishing third behind Italy and Romania. In 1992, Spain finally beat Romania for the first time in 1992, winning 6–0. Spain again nearly beat Argentina that same year, only losing 43–34 in a shootout in Madrid.

1995 began in similar fashion to the 1991 campaign, easily toppling the first group. However, Spain were unfortunately placed in a group with Wales, losing the key fixture 54–0, and again coming close, yet not close enough.

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, they lost to both Italy and Romania, and moved through to face Russia for a place in the repechage competition. Despite losing the first game in Madrid 3–36, and looking dead in the water, Spain pulled off a very unlikely victory, winning 38–22. Despite losing on aggregate, Spain went through the repechage due to Russia being disqualified for fielding ineligible players. They defeated Tunisia and moved on to face the United States. Spain lost 62–13 and 58–13, again missing out on the World Cup.

Spain playing against Portugal in 2013.

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.

2010–present

Spain missed the qualification for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, this time struggling through their fixtures. They lost 8 of their 10 fixtures, beating only Germany those two times, and missed out on advancing to the next round of qualifying.

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.[5] Despite this, the 2015 campaign was similarly disastrous, winning only two of their games as well as two draws. This led to a restructure of the makeup and strategies of the FER.[1] Spain has recently participated in the World Rugby Nations Cup and the 2014 IRB Tbilisi Cup.

The 2019 qualifying saw the team markedly improve; in 2017 they beat Germany, Russia and Belgium, and lost narrowly to Romania at home. The Spaniards started 2018 with great fortune, as they defeated Russia on their home soil for the first time since 2002, and defeated Romania for the first time since 2012.[citation needed] With both of these victories, Spain led their qualifying group and looked set for a possible qualification at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but a controversial defeat at Belgium in the last round, and a heavy deduction of points because of fielding of illegible players, ended their hopes.

Strip

Historically, Spain's kit reflected the colours of Spain; a red jersey with blue shorts deriving from the House of Bourbon. The current home kit consists of a red shirt with a triangular pattern and black on the waist sides, dark blue shorts and dark blue socks, while the away kit consists of a dark blue jersey, red waist sides, dark blue shorts and dark blue socks; previously, during the 1980s and 1990s, the Spanish team wore a yellow top as away kit.[6]

In 2013, it was announced that O'Neills, one of Ireland's most notable sporting brands, would be providing the new kits for Spain. This partnership is expected to last for the rest of the decade.[7][8] The team has been previously sponsored by Orange and Renfe, and previous kit providers include Canterbury, Westport and Viator.

Currently, the kits are provided by Joma since 2016. Since 2017, Generali is the current sponsor.

Record

European Nations Cup & FIRA Trophy

FIRA Nations Cup (1965 – 1973)
Nation Games Points Table
points 		Champs
played won drawn lost for against diff
 France 26 25 0 1 824 198 +626 65 7
 Romania 26 17 1 8 528 222 +306 51 1
 Czechoslovakia 17 2 2 13 135 411 –267 16 0
 Morocco 9 2 0 7 65 332 –267 13 0
 Italy 13 4 1 8 86 227 –141 12 0
 West Germany 10 1 1 8 81 132 –51 6 0
 Spain 3 1 0 2 56 55 +1 5 0
 Poland 3 0 0 3 19 132 –113 3 0
 Portugal 3 0 0 3 23 108 –85 0 0
See also: European Nations Cup (rugby union)
Season Division Games Won Drew Lost Points for Points against Points Position
2000 1 5 2 0 3 109 105 9 4th
2001–02 1 10 3 0 7 246 247 16 4th
2003–04 1 10 0 1 9 129 335 11 6th
2004–06 2 8 7 1 0 364 87 23 1st
2007–08 1 10 4 0 6 233 240 18 4th
2008–10 1 10 2 0 8 145 304 14 5th
2010–12 1A 10 5 0 5 225 275 26 3rd
2012–14 1A 10 2 2 6 159 243 15 4th
2014–16 1A 10 4 1 5 232 207 23 4th
2017 1A 5 3 0 2 91 54 13 3rd
2018 1A 5 3 0 2 147 66 13 3rd
2019 1A 5 4 0 1 127 75 18 2nd

Note: Green signifies promotion; red signifies relegation. Italic signifies current competition.

Rugby World Cup record

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 10 2 2 6 159 243
Japan 2019 8 6 0 2 217 85
Total 1/8 3 0 0 3 18 122 68 35 3 30 1727 1547

Overall

Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 30 as of 9 December 2024[9]
Rank Change[i] Team Points
1 Steady  South Africa 92.78
2 Steady  Ireland 90.78
3 Steady  New Zealand 90.36
4 Steady  France 88.51
5 Steady  Argentina 84.97
6 Steady  Scotland 83.34
7 Steady  England 82.31
8 Steady  Australia 81.52
9 Steady  Fiji 80.07
10 Steady  Italy 78.64
11 Steady  Wales 74.01
12 Steady  Georgia 73.85
13 Steady  Japan 72.95
14 Steady  Samoa 72.68
15 Steady  United States 70.02
16 Steady  Portugal 68.82
17 Steady  Uruguay 67.06
18 Steady  Spain 65.98
19 Steady  Tonga 65.46
20 Steady  Romania 63.01
21 Steady  Chile 61.72
22 Steady  Hong Kong 59.49
23 Steady  Canada 59.18
24 Steady  Netherlands 58.56
25 Steady  Russia 58.06
26 Steady  Namibia 57.87
27 Steady  Zimbabwe 57.16
28 Steady  Brazil 56.53
29 Steady  Belgium 56.51
30 Steady   Switzerland 56.04
  1. ^ Change from the previous week
Source: World Rugby[9]
Graph updated to 9 December 2024

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Spain national XV at test level up until 7th March 2020.[10]

Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win % For Aga Diff
 Andorra 3 3 0 0 100.00% 129 3 +126
 Argentina 4 0 4 0 0.00% 75 149 –74
 Argentina XV 2 0 2 0 0.00% 13 81 –68
 Argentina Jaguars 1 0 1 0 0.00% 7 41 –34
 Australia 1 0 1 0 0.00% 10 92 –82
 Australia A 1 0 1 0 0.00% 3 36 –33
Barbarians 1 0 1 0 0.00% 26 52 –26
 Belgium 17 14 2 1 81.25% 484 123 +361
 Brazil 1 1 0 0 100.00% 67 28 +39
 Canada 2 0 2 0 0.00% 49 97 –48
 Chile 5 3 2 0 60.00% 151 86 +65
 Croatia 2 1 0 1 50.00% 84 35 +49
 Czech Republic 8 6 2 0 75.00% 340 116 +224
 Czechoslovakia 5 2 2 1 40.00% 69 63 +6
 Denmark 1 1 0 0 100.00% 53 13 +40
 Emerging England 1 0 1 0 0.00% 17 86 –69
England England U23 2 0 2 0 0.00% 19 31 –12
 Fiji 1 0 1 0 0.00% 20 39 –19
 France XV 24 1 23 0 4.17% 283 1075 –792
France French Military 4 1 2 1 25.00% 34 52 –18
 Georgia 19 3 15 1 15.79% 280 590 –310
 Germany 13 9 3 1 69.23% 359 179 +180
 Hong Kong 1 1 0 0 100.00% 29 7 +22
 Hungary 1 1 0 0 100.00% 63 9 +54
 Italy 27 3 23 1 11.11% 187 581 –394
 Emerging Italy 1 0 1 0 0.00% 0 37 –37
 Japan 3 0 3 0 0.00% 43 114 –71
 Kenya 1 0 1 0 0.00% 36 27 –9
 Moldova 1 1 0 0 100.00% 40 7 +33
 Morocco 20 13 5 0 65.00% 332 142 +190
 Namibia 7 5 2 0 71.42% 178 156 +22
 Netherlands 14 13 0 1 92.86% 394 107 +287
New Zealand New Zealand Māori 2 0 2 0 0.00% 15 88 –73
 Poland 16 10 6 0 62.50% 320 207 +113
 Portugal 36 24 10 2 66.67% 769 524 +245
 Romania 37 3 34 0 8.33% 370 1065 –695
  Royal Air Force 4 0 2 2 0.00% 26 59 –33
 Russia 22 6 16 0 23.81% 502 625 –123
 Scotland 1 0 1 0 0.00% 0 48 –48
 Scotland XV 4 0 4 0 0.00% 34 211 –177
 Scotland A 1 0 1 0 0.00% 7 39 –32
 Slovenia 1 1 0 0 100.00% 76 6 +70
 South Africa 1 0 1 0 0.00% 3 47 –44
 Soviet Union 7 0 7 0 0.00% 60 152 –92
 Sweden 2 2 0 0 100.00% 58 30 +28
  Switzerland 1 1 0 0 100.00% 40 0 +40
 Tonga 1 0 1 0 0.00% 13 28 –15
 Tunisia 5 4 1 0 80.00% 141 51 +90
 Ukraine 2 2 0 0 100.00% 76 19 +57
 United States 3 0 3 0 0.00% 29 169 –149
 Uruguay 11 5 6 0 45.45% 156 211 –55
 Wales 1 0 1 0 0.00% 0 54 –54
 West Germany 10 4 5 1 40.00% 137 96 +41
 Yugoslavia 4 4 0 0 100.00% 86 17 +69
 Zimbabwe 7 5 2 0 71.43% 153 108 +45
Total 373 152 206 15 40.38% 6914 8175 –1261

Players

Current squad

Spain`s squad for the 2020 Rugby Europe Championship.

Head Coach: Spain Santiago Santos

  • Caps Updated: 17 February 2020

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Marco Pinto Ferrer Hooker (1987-11-11) 11 November 1987 (age 37) 21 France AS Béziers
Vicente del hoyo Portoles Hooker (1996-02-05) 5 February 1996 (age 28) 8 Spain CR El Salvador
Alberto Alonso Blanco Prop (1990-10-08) 8 October 1990 (age 34) 19 Spain VRAC
José Díaz Prop (1998-06-22) 22 June 1998 (age 26) 0 Spain VRAC
Thierry Futeu Prop (1995-06-23) 23 June 1995 (age 29) 6 France Stade Français
Nicolás Jurado Prop (1998-12-14) 14 December 1998 (age 26) 1 Spain CR El Salvador
Jon Zabala Prop (1996-11-26) 26 November 1996 (age 28) 11 France Anglet Olympique
Michael Walker-Fitton Lock (1986-10-02) 2 October 1986 (age 38) 10 Spain CR El Salvador
Lucas Guillaume Lock (1991-04-15) 15 April 1991 (age 33) 18 France SC Albigeois
Manuel Mora Lock (1985-03-08) 8 March 1985 (age 39) 19 Spain Independiente RC
Josh Peters Lock (1995-10-12) 12 October 1995 (age 29) 6 England Blackheath F.C.
Victor Sánchez Borrego Back row (1987-06-20) 20 June 1987 (age 37) 20 Spain CR El Salvador
Gautier Gibouin (c) Back row (1991-03-24) 24 March 1991 (age 33) 43 France USON Nevers
Juan Pablo Guido Back row (1990-09-23) 23 September 1990 (age 34) 4 Spain CD Aparejadores
Nathan Paila Back row (1991-05-28) 28 May 1991 (age 33) 3 Spain VRAC
Fréderic Quercy Back row (1991-07-06) 6 July 1991 (age 33) 6 France USON Nevers
Lionel Tauli Back row (1990-04-29) 29 April 1990 (age 34) 11 Spain UE Santboiana
Tomás Munilla Scrum-half (1998-08-03) 3 August 1998 (age 26) 6 France AS Béziers
Lucas Rubio Scrum-half (1991-05-29) 29 May 1991 (age 33) 8 Un-attached
Brad Linklater Fly-half (1985-05-16) 16 May 1985 (age 39) 30 Spain Alcobendas Rugby
Gonzalo Vinuesa Fly-half (2001-05-15) 15 May 2001 (age 23) 0 Spain CR Cisneros
Álvar Gimeno Centre (1997-12-15) 15 December 1997 (age 27) 18 France AS Béziers
Nicolás Nieto Centre (1995-03-17) 17 March 1995 (age 29) 0 Spain Independiente RC
Pierre Nueno Centre (1995-05-15) 15 May 1995 (age 29) 1 France Section Paloise
Richard Stewart Centre (1990-11-04) 4 November 1990 (age 34) 12 Spain Alcobendas Rugby
Federico Castiglioni Wing (1990-08-10) 10 August 1990 (age 34) 26 Spain Independiente RC
Ignacio Contardi Wing (1991-03-08) 8 March 1991 (age 33) 33 Spain Independiente RC
Julen Goia Wing (1991-12-12) 12 December 1991 (age 33) 27 Spain Ordizia RE
Baltazar Taibo Wing (1997-01-30) 30 January 1997 (age 27) 0 Spain VRAC
JW Bell Fullback (1990-01-18) 18 January 1990 (age 34) 2 Spain VRAC
Sergio Molinero Fullback (2000-07-04) 4 July 2000 (age 24) 0 Spain CD Aparejadores

Notable players

Coaches

Spanish Rugby Coaches
Name Tenure Tests Won Drew Lost Win %
New Zealand Bryce Bevin 1993 – 97, 2012 – 13 42 21 3 18 50%
Spain Alfonso Feijoo 1997 – 03 48 14 0 34 29.16%
England Gerard Glynn 2004 – 10 46 20 2 24 43.47%
France Régis Sonnes 2010 – 12 13 7 0 6 53.84%
Spain Santiago Santos 2013 – 45 18 1 26 40.00%
  • Updated: 18 March 2018

See also

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

References

  1. ^ a b "Blog De la Calle: Rugby español, ni español ni... (in Spanish)". Eurosport. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Historia del Rugby: España". Rugby de Calle. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ "80 años de historia". Arquitectura Rugby. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  5. ^ IRB.com, 2012 in review: Highs and lows in rankings, Jan. 7, 2013, http://www.irb.com/rankings/news/newsid=2064835.html
  6. ^ Spain Rugby Shirts, oldrugbyshirts.com, retrieved 17 March 2016
  7. ^ New Spain Rugby Shirt 2014/2015- Spanish Home Rugby Kit 14/15, New Rugby Kits, 20 November 2013, retrieved 17 March 2016
  8. ^ Browne, PJ (4 February 2015), Check Out The Spanish Rugby Team's Jersey Made By O'Neills, Balls.ie, retrieved 17 March 2016
  9. ^ a b "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  10. ^ Spain rugby statistics
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