Spain women's national rugby union team
| Union | Spanish Rugby Federation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Las Leonas | ||
| Coach(es) | José Antonio Barrio | ||
| Captain(s) | Aroa González | ||
| Most caps | Aroa González (74) | ||
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| First international | |||
 Spain 0-28 France  (2 May 1989) | |||
| Largest win | |||
Spain 119 – 0 Finland  (30 April 2011) | |||
| Largest defeat | |||
| Spain 0-97 France (11 November 2017) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 5 (First in 1991) | ||
| Best result | 6th 1991 | ||
The Spain women's national rugby union team played their first match on 2 May 1989, against France, losing 0-28. The team played the Women's Six Nations from 2000 to 2006, but they were replaced by Italy for 2007, in order to mirror the men's tournament.
History
Currently there are over 200 clubs in Spain and a league similar to that of male rugby. The first steps were taken in 1913, when women played in secret in schools, but rugby first began to be played seriously at training camps at the School of Architecture of Madrid in the early 70s by a group of architecture students. They formed a group of about 20 girls who trained regularly twice per week and as they were the only ones who practiced, played sided games between themselves. They played well
In the late seventies a group of female PE students taught by Jose Antonio Sancha, a professor of Rugby at Barcelona INEF, decided to train with the men's rugby and played the game seriously (though they were not recognised by the Catalan Federation rugby until 1983).
The first game was played in Barcelona between the BUC and INEF clubs and other clubs quickly formed in different parts of Spain but mainly in the early years only came from Barcelona and Madrid. In a few years female rugby spread to Madrid, the Basque Country and Valencia. In 1991 27 women's teams participating in regional competitions.
The national team first played in Cardiff (Wales) at the Rugby World Cup, where they won the fifth place behind the United States, England, France and New Zealand. In 1994, the Spanish team was unable to come to Scotland because of budgetary problems, however Spain remained one of the top teams in Europe. In 1995 Spain became the unexpected champions of the first European Championship by defeating rival France, in the final 21-6. The 1996 European brought a repeat of that final but this time the Spanish lost by 15-10.
In January 1997 a tour of England took place where Spain and were in the lead against the World Champions until 10 minutes from the end of the match. Only a last minute try by England gave them the win and in European (the first where all the British teams competed) played the final but Spain came 3rd. Spain qualified for the World Championships in Amsterdam and managed a creditable 7th place. Spain again reached the European final in 1999 against France, losing 13-5, after beating Wales (14-8) and Scotland (11-9).
The 2002 World Cup was held in Barcelona, New Zealand retaining its title in defeating (19-9) to England in the final at the Olympic Stadium Lluis Companys. France took the bronze after beating Canada (41-7), while Spain finished in 8th place after yielding to the United States (23-5).
Spain were also members of the Five and Six Nations from 2000 to 2006, finishing third on three occasions and winning 10 of the 33 games they played. However, in 2007 they were replaced by Italy because the Six Nations Committee wished to align the women's tournament with the men's. This has severely reduced Spain's opportunities to play top level international rugby, and may have been a factor in Spain's failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. However, they were compensated a little in 2010 when they won the "double" of the European 15s and 7s titles without losing a game.
Competitive record
Rugby World Cup
Five/Six Nations Championship
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FIRA European Championship
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Results
Summary
Full internationals only
- Correct as of 31 March 2019
| Opponent | First game | Last game | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia
|
1998 | 1998 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% |
 Belgium
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2010 | 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 Canada
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1991 | 2014 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00% |
 Czech Republic
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2016 | 2016 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 England
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1991 | 2017 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6.25% |
| Finland
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2011 | 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
| France
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1989 | 2014 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 26.32% |
 Germany
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1996 | 2018 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 Hong Kong
|
2015 | 2018 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 Ireland
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1997 | 2008 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 55.56% |
 Italy
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1991 | 2017 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 76.92% |
 Japan
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1991 | 2002 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 Kazakhstan
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2006 | 2014 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 Netherlands
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1996 | 2019 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 New Zealand
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1998 | 1998 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% |
 Russia
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1997 | 2019 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 Samoa
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2006 | 2014 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 Scotland
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1997 | 2016 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 36.84% |
 South Africa
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2014 | 2018 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 Sweden
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2004 | 2013 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 80.00% |
 United States
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1998 | 2017 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00% |
 Wales
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1998 | 2017 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 60.00% |
| Summary | 1989 | 2019 | 130 | 69 | 2 | 59 | 53.85% |
Players
Current squad
The following players were named to the squad for the friendly match against Scotland on 20 November 2019.
- Caps updated: 18 November 2018
- Team Manager: José Antonio Barrio
- Head Coach: Juan González
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Recent call-ups
The following players were named to a squad in the last call-ups.
| Forwards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Position | Height/Weight | Date of birth | Caps | Club |
 Claudia Alonso |
Hooker | 1.55 m / 67 kg | 4 April 1994 | 1 | XV Hortaleza |
 Alexandra Castillón |
Hooker | 1.65 m / 68 kg | 7 April 1990 | 5 | INEF Barcelona |
| Aroa González |
Hooker | 1.60 m / 67 kg | 19 April 1979 | 74 | retired |
 Rocío García |
Prop | 1.81 m / 81 kg | 31 January 1981 | 64 | retired |
 Isabel Martí |
Prop | -/-/2000 | 0 | CR El Salvador | |
 Sandra Treviño |
Prop | 1.66 m / 88 kg | 20 August 1993 | 0 | XV Sanse Scrum |
| Judith Vèlez |
Prop | 1.70 m / 70 kg | 17 January 1982 | 2 | GEiEG |
 Inmaculada Blanco |
Lock | 1.78 m / 65 kg | 12 April 1989 | 0 | Univ. Sevilla |
| Mónica Castelo |
Lock | 1.75 m / 83 kg | 18 April 1987 | 12 | CRAT |
 Berta García |
Lock | 1.73 m / 72 kg | 12 April 1982 | 41 | retired |
| Amanda Prado |
Lock | 1.75 m / 68 kg | 19 April 1991 | 0 | O. Pozuelo |
 María Ribera |
Lock | 1.76 m / 72 kg | 8 July 1986 | 30 | XV Sanse Scrum |
| Diana Gassó |
Flanker | 1.70 m / 68 kg | 16 April 1984 | 21 | Gòtics RC |
 Jimena Parra |
Flanker | 1.66 m / 65 kg | 15 June 1990 | 2 | O. Pozuelo |
 Carmen Pérez |
Flanker | 1.64 m / 68 kg | 21 May 1985 | 8 | Getxo RT |
| Carmen Rodera |
Flanker | 1.67 m / 61 kg | 8 May 1998 | 0 | CR Majadahonda |
| Ángela Soria |
Flanker | 28 December 1990 | 1 | Getxo RT | |
| Alma Torras |
Flanker | 1.63 m / 64 kg | 19 March 1996 | 0 | XV Hortaleza |
| Ángela del Pan |
Number 8 | 1.73 m / 68 kg | 19 April 1985 | 38 | retired |
| Cristina Blanco |
Number 8 | 1.70 m / 74 kg | 30 September 1995 | 0 | O. Pozuelo |
| Elena Redondo |
Number 8 | 1.75 m / 83 kg | 28 June 1988 | 23 | Gent RFC |
| Backs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Position | Height/Weight | Age | Caps | Club |
 Idoia Olabarrieta |
Scrum-half | 1.60 m / 51 kg | 3 July 1995 | 7 | Getxo RT |
| Anna Ramón |
Scrum-half | 1.63 m / 61 kg | 5 January 1996 | 5 | INEF Barcelona |
| Carla Rodríguez |
Scrum-half | 1.68 m / 60 kg | 23 March 1998 | 1 | INEF-L'Hospitalet |
| Inés Bueso-Inchausti |
Fly-half | 1.68 m / 55 kg | 9 November 1999 | 0 | CR Cisneros |
| Carlota Meliz |
Fly-half | 1.59 m / 57 kg | 19 April 1993 | 7 | XV Sanse Scrum |
| Vanessa Rial |
Fly-half | 1.72 m / 68 kg | 1 March 1982 | 30 | CRAT A Coruña |
| María Casado |
Centre | 1.67 m / 63 kg | 25 December 1985 | 13 | INEF Barcelona |
| Elisa Castro |
Centre | 1.61 m / 65 kg | 15 March 1997 | 1 | CR El Salvador |
| Elisabet Martínez |
Centre | 1.67 m / 72 kg | 13 June 1988 | 11 | GEiEG |
 Irene Schiavon |
Centre | 1.71 m / 69 kg | 1 March 1987 | 18 | O. Pozuelo |
| Enara Cacho |
Wing | 1.72 m / 58 kg | 11 June 1992 | 1 | Hernani CRE |
| Marta Carmona |
Wing | 1.68 m / 67 kg | 16 July 1993 | 1 | CRAT |
| Beatriz Domínguez |
Wing | 1.65 m / 62 kg | 9 October 1995 | 0 | XV Sanse Scrum |
| Bárbara García |
Wing | 1.64 m / 60 kg | 29 May 1992 | 1 | O. Pozuelo |
| Raquel García |
Wing | 1.65 m / 62 kg | 21 July 1996 | 1 | INEF-L'Hospitalet |
| Ainhoa Portos |
Wing | 1.80 m / 70 kg | 27 December 1997 | 0 | CRAT |
| Bárbara Plà |
Fullback | 1.61 m / 62 kg | 17 July 1983 | 53 | Getxo RT |
| Uribarri Barrutieta |
Fullback | 1.71 m / 68 kg | 13 March 1997 | 5 | Durango RT |
Previous squads
Results
Full internationals
See Women's international rugby for information about the status of international games and match numbering Template:Wrugbybox
Other matches
Others teams
Most capped Spanish players
| # | Player | Position | Career | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Aroa González |
hooker | 1997–2017 | 74 |
| 2. | Inés Etxegibel |
fly-half | 1994–2007 | 64 |
| Rocío García |
prop | 2003–2017 | 64 | |
| 4. | Isabel Rodríguez |
scrum-half | 2003–2011 | 56 |
| 5. | Bárbara Plà |
centre | 2004–2017 | 53 |
| 6. | Pilar López |
lock | 1996–2003 | 49 |
| Nerea Otxoa de Aspuru |
prop | 2003–2013 | 49 | |
| 8. |  Mercedes Batidor |
flanker | 1995–2002 | 47 |
| 9. |  María Isabel Pérez |
wing | 1991–2002 | 46 |
| 10. | Karitte Alegria |
number 8 | 1994–2005 | 43 |
| Coral Vila |
fullback | 1996–2003 | 43 | |
| Helena Roca |
centre / fly-half | 2001–2014 | 43 |
See also
References
External links
- (in Spanish) Federación Española de Rugby – Official Site
- (in Spanish) Federación Asturiana de Rugby – Official Site
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