Spain women's national rugby union team

For the men's team, see Spain national rugby union team. For the women's sevens team, see Spain women's national rugby sevens team.

Spain
NicknameLas Leonas
UnionSpanish Rugby Federation
Head coachJuan González Marruecos
CaptainCristina Blanco
Most capsAroa González (74)
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current13 (as of 25 March 2024)
First international
 Spain 0–28 France 
(2 May 1989)
Biggest win
 Spain 119–0 Finland 
(A Coruña, Spain; 30 April 2011)
Biggest defeat
 Spain 3–86 England 
(Madrid, Spain; 11 February 2006)
World Cup
Appearances5 (First in 1991)
Best result6th 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

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Women's
World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 rankings as of 28 October 2024[1]
Rank Change* Team Points
1 Steady  England 097.56
2 Steady  Canada 089.31
3 Steady  New Zealand 088.64
4 Steady  France 085.11
5 Steady  Australia 078.10
6 Steady  Ireland 078.03
7 Steady  Scotland 076.82
8 Steady  Italy 074.75
9 Steady  United States 074.20
10 Steady  Wales 072.58
11 Steady  Japan 066.41
12 Steady  South Africa 066.18
13 Steady  Spain 065.42
14 Steady  Russia 061.10
15 Steady  Samoa 060.56
16 Steady  Netherlands 060.20
17 Steady  Fiji 059.14
18 Steady  Hong Kong 056.20
19 Steady  Kazakhstan 055.23
20 Steady  Sweden 052.72
*Change from the previous week

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

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Rugby World Cup

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Rugby World Cup
Year Round Position Pld W D L PF PA
Wales 1991 Plate final 6th 5 3 0 2 55 38
Scotland 1994 Withdrew
Netherlands 1998 Plate Semi-final 8th 5 1 0 4 71 141
Spain 2002 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 0 3 83 66
Canada 2006 Group stage 9th 5 3 0 2 41 132
England 2010 Did not qualify
France 2014 Group stage 9th 5 3 0 2 105 86
Ireland 2017 Group stage 10th 5 2 0 3 73 134
New Zealand 2021 Did not qualify
England 2025 Qualified
Australia 2029 TBD
United States 2033
Total 6/9 6th† 29 13 0 16 428 597
  Champion   Runner-up   Third place   Fourth place
* Tied placing † Best placing Home venue


Five/Six Nations Championship

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Women's Six Nations Championship record
Year Position Pld W D L PF PA
2000 Women's Five Nations 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 2 0 2 53 88
2001 Women's Five Nations 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 2 0 2 31 47
2002 Women's Six Nations 4th 5 2 0 3 56 100
2003 Women's Six Nations 6th 5 0 0 5 14 204
2004 Women's Six Nations 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 3 0 2 29 114
2005 Women's Six Nations 4th 5 1 1 3 32 161
2006 Women's Six Nations 6th 5 0 0 5 25 175
Total 3rd (best result) 33 10 1 22 240 889

Rugby Europe Women's Championship

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Rugby Europe Women's Championship record
Year Position Pld W D L PF PA
France 1988 European Cup Withdrew
Italy 1995 European Championship 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2 2 0 0 27 6
Spain 1996 European Championship 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3 2 0 1 82 15
France 1997 European Championship 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3 2 0 1 62 19
Italy 1999 European Championship 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3 2 0 1 30 30
Spain 2000 European Championship 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3 2 0 1 71 57
France 2001 European Championship 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3 2 0 1 52 26
Italy 2002 European Nations Cup Withdrew
Sweden 2003 European Championship 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2 2 0 0 45 15
France 2004 European Championship 6th 3 1 0 2 48 49
Germany 2005 European Championship Withdrew
Italy 2006 European Nations Cup
Spain 2007 European Championship 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 3 0 1 128 31
Netherlands 2008 European Championship 6th 3 1 0 2 52 68
Sweden 2009 European Trophy 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3 2 0 1 92 18
France 2010 European Trophy 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 4 0 0 145 33
Spain 2011 European Trophy 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 3 0 1 152 19
Italy 2012 European Championship 4th 3 0 0 3 6 175
Spain 2013 European Championship 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3 3 0 0 171 7
Belgium 2014 European Trophy Withdrew
Switzerland 2015 European Trophy
Spain 2016 European Championship 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3 3 0 0 208 7
Belgium 2018 European Championship 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2 2 0 0 84 7
Spain 2019 European Championship 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2 2 0 0 95 0
Spain 2020 European Championship 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2 2 0 0 143 7
European Union 2022 European Championship 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2 2 0 0 96 0
Total 9 titles 57 42 0 15 1,789 589

Overall

[edit]
See also: List of Spain women's national rugby union team matches

(Full internationals only, updated to 23 March 2024)

Spain Internationals From 1989
Opponent First Match Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Win %
 Australia 1998 1 0 0 1 15 17 0.00%
 Belgium 2010 2 2 0 0 142 0 100.00%
 Canada 1991 3 0 0 3 9 129 0.00%
 Czech Republic 2016 1 1 0 0 97 0 100.00%
 England 1991 18 2 2 14 138 714 11.11%
 Fiji 2023 1 1 0 0 26 19 100.00%
 Finland 2011 1 1 0 0 119 0 100.00%
 France 1989 20 6 0 14 154 450 30.00%
 Germany 1996 3 3 0 0 171 0 100.00%
 Hong Kong 2015 4 4 0 0 189 30 100.00%
 Ireland 1997 11 6 0 5 154 154 54.55%
 Italy 1991 16 10 0 6 297 235 62.50%
 Japan 1991 3 2 0 1 113 27 66.67%
 Kazakhstan 1998 3 3 0 0 64 20 100.00%
 Kenya 2023 1 1 0 0 32 0 100.00%
 Netherlands 1991 12 12 0 0 562 31 100.00%
 New Zealand 1998 1 0 0 1 3 46 0.00%
 Russia 2007 4 4 0 0 178 10 100.00%
 Samoa 2006 3 3 0 0 65 22 100.00%
 Scotland 1997 23 8 0 15 275 442 34.78%
 South Africa 2014 7 3 0 4 134 148 42.86%
 Sweden 2004 6 5 0 1 220 24 83.33%
 United States 1998 4 0 0 4 35 124 0.00%
 Wales 1998 11 7 1 3 167 128 63.64%
Summary 1989 159 84 3 72 3359 2770 52.83%

Players

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Recent squad

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Spain announced their squad on 3 September 2024 for the WXV 3 tournament in Dubai.[2]

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
María del Castillo Hooker (1996-01-11)11 January 1996 (aged 28) 13 Spain Olímpico de Pozuelo
Inés Antolínez Prop (1996-06-12)12 June 1996 (aged 28) 13 Spain Crealia El Salvador
Cristina Blanco Hooker (1995-09-30)30 September 1995 (aged 28) 22 England Ealing Trailfinders
María de las Huertas Román Prop (1999-02-12)12 February 1999 (aged 25) 14 Spain Simón Verde Magnolia Cocos
Nuria Jou Prop (2001-11-10)10 November 2001 (aged 22) 6 Spain UE Santboiana
Sidorella Bracic Prop (1993-06-12)12 June 1993 (aged 31) 18 Spain Crealia El Salvador
Laura Delgado Prop (1988-06-30)30 June 1988 (aged 36) 40 England Harlequins
Mireia de Andrés Prop (1999-09-10)10 September 1999 (aged 25) 3 Spain Sant Cugat
Anna Puig Second row (1999-10-14)14 October 1999 (aged 24) 31 Spain UE Santboiana
Mónica Castelo Second row (1987-04-18)18 April 1987 (aged 37) 24 France Stade Rennais
Lourdes Alameda Second row (1989-07-02)2 July 1989 (aged 35) 29 France AC Bobigny 93 Rugby
Nadina Cisa Second row (1993-07-24)24 July 1993 (aged 31) 7 France LOU Rugby
Nerea García Back row (1996-11-17)17 November 1996 (aged 27) 6 Spain Crealia El Salvador
Alba Capell Back row (2003-10-28)28 October 2003 (aged 20) 17 England Sale Sharks
Lia Piñeiro Prop (2001-08-28)28 August 2001 (aged 23) 5 Spain Olímpico de Pozuelo
María Calvo Back row (1999-02-16)16 February 1999 (aged 25) 26 Spain Complutense Cisneros
Carmen Castellucci Second row (2002-08-26)26 August 2002 (aged 22) 18 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Lucía Díaz Scrum-half (1998-02-04)4 February 1998 (aged 26) 28 Spain Silicius Majadahonda
Maider Aresti Centre (2003-07-24)24 July 2003 (aged 21) 10 Spain Simón Verde Magnolia Cocos
Anne Fernández de Corres Scrum-half (1998-05-30)30 May 1998 (aged 26) 23 Spain Spanish Rugby Federation
Amàlia Argudo Fly-half (2000-01-24)24 January 2000 (aged 24) 14 France Stade Toulousain
Naroa Azpitarte Centre (2005-11-20)20 November 2005 (aged 18) 1 Spain Getxo Artea
Zahía Pérez Fly-half (2004-01-14)14 January 2004 (aged 20) 18 Spain Silicius Majadahonda
Claudia Cano Fly-half (2005-08-02)2 August 2005 (aged 19) 4 Spain Complutense Cisneros
Alba Vinuesa Wing (1999-03-30)30 March 1999 (aged 25) 24 France Stade Français Paris
Claudia Pérez Wing (2004-06-29)29 June 2004 (aged 20) 12 Spain Silicius Majadahonda
Clara Piquero Fullback (1999-02-11)11 February 1999 (aged 25) 18 France Lons Section paloise
Martina Márquez Centre (2003-01-29)29 January 2003 (aged 21) 4 Spain AVR FC Barcelona
Claudia Peña Fullback (2004-10-26)26 October 2004 (aged 19) 15 England Harlequins
Lea Ducher Fullback (2002-04-29)29 April 2002 (aged 22) 5 Spain Simón Verde Magnolia Cocos

Previous squads

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Most capped Players

[edit]
As of 30 October 2022

[3]

# Player Position Career Caps
1. Catalonia Aroa González Hooker 1997–2017 74
2. Basque Country (autonomous community) Inés Etxegibel Fly-half 1994–2007 64
Galicia (Spain) Rocío García Prop 2003–2017
4. Basque Country (autonomous community) Isabel Rodríguez Scrum-half 2003–2011 56
5. Catalonia Bárbara Plà Centre 2004–2017 53
6. Community of Madrid Pilar López Lock 1996–2003 49
Basque Country (autonomous community) Nerea Otxoa de Aspuru Prop 2003–2013
8. Balearic Islands Mercedes Batidor Flanker 1995–2002 47
9. Castilla–La Mancha María Isabel Pérez Wing 1991–2002 46
10 Galicia (Spain) Helena Roca Centre / Fly-half 2001–2014 45
10. Basque Country (autonomous community) Karitte Alegria Number 8 1994–2005 43
Catalonia Coral Vila Fullback 1996–2003
Galicia (Spain) Paula Medín Loose forward 2007–2022
Community of Madrid Patricia García Scrum-half 2010–2022

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  2. ^ "30 Leonas para preparar la clasificación al Mundial de Inglaterra 2025" [30 Lionesses to prepare for qualification for the 2025 England World Cup]. Spanish Rugby Federation (in Spanish). 2024-09-03. Archived from the original on 2024-09-05. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
  3. ^ "Leonas XV Histórico" (in Spanish). Rugby Femenino. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
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