Spain_national_rugby_sevens_team
Spain national rugby sevens team
Rugby team
Spain's national rugby sevens team is one of 15 core teams participating in all ten tournaments of the World Rugby Sevens Series,[1] having qualified by winning the 2017 Hong Kong Sevens qualifier tournament. Spain participated as a core team in the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series, but was relegated the following season.
| Union | Spanish Rugby Federation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach(es) | Pablo Feijoo | ||
| Captain(s) | Igor Genua (2017-18) | ||
| Top scorer | Francisco Hernández (449) | ||
| Most tries | Pol Pla (50) | ||
| |||
The team trains together at the country's Olympic training facilities in Madrid, which itself has been a result of the sport entering its first Olympic cycle.[2] Spain won the 2016 Olympic qualifying repechage tournament by beating Samoa 22–19 to qualify for the last available qualifying spot for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[3][4][5]
The team also competes annually in Rugby Europe's Sevens Grand Prix Series tournament.[6]
Summer Olympic Games
| Spain's Olympic Games results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D |
 2016 |
Placement round | 10th | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
 2020 |
did not qualify | |||||
| Total | Placement round | 1/1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Matches | ||||||
| Pool stage |  Spain | 0 – 24 |  South Africa | Loss | ||
| Pool stage | Spain | 12 – 26 |  Australia | Loss | ||
| Pool stage | Spain | 5 – 26 |  France | Loss | ||
| 9–12th place playoff semi-final | Spain | 14 – 12 |  Kenya | Win | ||
| 9–12th place playoff Ninth place | Spain | 14 – 24 |  United States | Loss | ||
Rugby World Cup Sevens
| Rugby World Cup Sevens Record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D | |||
 1993 |
Plate Finalist | 10th | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |||
 1997 |
Plate Quarterfinalist | 13th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |||
 2001 |
Plate Semifinalist | 11th | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | |||
 2005 |
Did not qualify | ||||||||
 2009 | |||||||||
 2013 |
Bowl Quarterfinalist | 21st | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2018 |
Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2022 | |||||||||
| Total | 0 Titles | 4/7 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 0 | |||
Spain started off the 2012–13 IRB Sevens Series with a bang at the 2012 Gold Coast Sevens, defeating core teams Wales and England to finish ninth and win the Bowl. Pedro Martin led Spain in scoring in the 2012 Gold Coast Sevens, contributing 5 tries and 27 points, while Pablo Feijoo added 4 tries and 22 points.[7]
Spain was elevated to "core team" status for the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series, following its performance in qualifying at the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens. At that tournament, Spain defeated Zimbabwe, Philippines, Tonga and Japan to reach the finals, where it lost to Canada.[8] Spain participated in other events during the 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series. In that season, Spain played in the 2012 Scotland Sevens, reaching the Bowl finals, and the 2012 London Sevens, reaching the Cup quarterfinal.
Spain's best finish on the World Series was the 2017–18 season where Spain finished 11th.
Current squad
The following players have been selected to represent Spain during the 2023–24 SVNS tournament beginning in December 2023.
Note: Caps reflect the total number of SVNS events competed in as of the 2023 South Africa Sevens.
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enrique Bolinches | Forward | (2001-08-03) 3 August 2001 (age 22) | 18 | Unattached |
| Ángel Bozal | Forward | (1999-11-17) 17 November 1999 (age 24) | 2 | Unattached |
| Antón Legorburu | Forward | 2001 (age 22–23) | 2 | Unattached |
| Manu Moreno | Forward | (1998-09-02) 2 September 1998 (age 25) | 20 | Ciencias |
| Nicolás Nieto | Forward | (1995-03-17) 17 March 1995 (age 29) | 14 | Unattached |
| Álvaro Rodriguez Gassot | Forward | (2002-12-26) 26 December 2002 (age 21) | 4 | Unattached |
| Tobías Sainz-Trápaga | Forward | (1999-02-02) 2 February 1999 (age 25) | 19 | Unattached |
| Josep Serres | Forward | (2000-10-04) 4 October 2000 (age 23) | 23 | Unattached |
| Alejandro Laforga | Back | (1999-08-29) 29 August 1999 (age 24) | 13 | Cisneros |
| Eduardo López (c) | Back | (1999-01-14) 14 January 1999 (age 25) | 26 | Unattached |
| Jaime Manteca | Back | (2004-06-29) 29 June 2004 (age 19) | 14 | Unattached |
| Juan Martínez | Back | (2000-12-05) 5 December 2000 (age 23) | 24 | Unattached |
| Pol Pla | Back | (1993-02-18) 18 February 1993 (age 31) | 40 | Unattached |
| Juan Ramos | Back | (1995-10-11) 11 October 1995 (age 28) | 33 | Unattached |
| Miguel Reina | Back | (1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 (age 24) | 14 | Unattached |
Former squads
| Player | Age |
|---|---|
| Alejandro Alonso | 19 |
| Francisco Hernández | 29 |
| Ignacio Martin Goenaga | 34 |
| Ignacio Rodriguez-Guerra | 22 |
| Igor Genua (c)[10] | 29 |
| Iñaki Villanueva | 27 |
| Jacobo Martin Beamonte | 24 |
| Jaike Carter | 31 |
| Javier Carrión | 27 |
| Javier De Juan | 27 |
| Josh Taylor | 20 |
| Lucas Levy | 27 |
| Manuel Sainz-Trapaga | 25 |
| Marcos Poggi | 30 |
| Pablo Fontes | 22 |
| Pol Pla | 25 |
| Thomas Pearce | 27 |
| Pablo Feijoo (Head Coach) | |
| Player |
|---|
| Adam Newton |
| Inaki Villanueva |
| Javier Carrion |
| Javier de Juan |
| Matias Tudela |
| Jacobo Martin |
| Jaike Carter |
| Gauthier Minguillon |
| Francisco Hernandez |
| Angel Lopez |
| Glen Lewis Rolls |
| Pablo Fontes |
| Player | Number |
|---|---|
| Ignacio Martin | 1 |
| Carlos Blanco | 2 |
| Javier Canosa | 3 |
| Pablo Feijóo (c) | 4 |
| César Sempere | 5 |
| Martín Heredia | 6 |
| Pedro Martín | 7 |
| Juan Cano | 8 |
| Angel Lopez | 9 |
| Matías Tudela | 10 |
| Ryan Le Roux | 11 |
| Marcus Poggi | 12 |
Coach
Pablo Feijoo has served as head coach of the Spain national rugby sevens team since the 2016–17 season. He played in the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia,[13] and was a member of the squad that defeated Samoa 7s to secure a place in the 2016 Summer Olympics.[14][15][16]
Feijoo replaced Ignacio "Tiki" Inchausti, who played in Spain's only ever appearance at the 1999 fifteens Rugby World Cup, and also played at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2001 in Mar del Plata. Prior to his appointment to the men's team, Inchausti was in charge of Spain's women's squad, whom he managed to qualify for the inaugural participation of women in the tournament in Dubai in 2009. Inchausti coached the Spanish men's men's side from 2010, helping them qualify as a core team in 2012.[17]
Players in bold are still active.
Group A matches
- McLaren, Bill A Visit to Hong Kong in Starmer-Smith, Nigel & Robertson, Ian (eds) The Whitbread Rugby World '90 (Lennard Books, 1989)
- "About HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series". Worldrugby.org. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- IRB.com, Spain Sevens all set for Series challenge[usurped], 25 September 2012
- "Spain upsets Samoa to qualify for Rio 2016". blitzbokke.com. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
- "Rio 2016: Spain qualify for Olympic sevens rugby with dramatic win over Samoa". BBC. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
- "Spain pip Samoa to Rio 7s spot". Stuff.co.nz. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
- "2018 – Men 7s Grand Prix Series". RugbyEurope.eu. Rugby Europe. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- "2011/12 IRB Sevens World Series, Hong Kong: Results – Final". Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- "Spain Squad". Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- "Final rosters named for Singapore Sevens". AmericasRugbyNews.com. Americas Rugby News. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- "2011/12 IRB Sevens World Series – Hong Kong". WorldRugby.org. World Rugby. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- "2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens – Spain 7s". World Rugby.org. June 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- "Spain keep faith with repechage heroes for Rio". World Rugby.org. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- "Rio Olympics: Team squads for the 7s". Sky Sports. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- "FEIJOO Pablo". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- IRB.com, Spain Sevens all set for Series challenge[usurped], 25 September 2012