Spain's national rugby sevens team is one of 12 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 | Francisco Hernández | ||
| Captain | Pol Pla | ||
| 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]
Tournament history
editSummer Olympic Games
edit| 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
edit
World Rugby Sevens Series
editSpain 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 2024–25 season where Spain finished 3rd.
Players
editCurrent squad
editThe following players have been selected to represent Spain during the 2025–26 SVNS tournament beginning in November 2025.
Note: Caps reflect the total number of SVNS events competed in as of the 2025 South Africa Sevens.
Award winners
editThe following Spain Sevens players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2004:[9]
|
Records and statistics
editFormer squads
edit
| Player | Age |
|---|---|
| Alejandro Alonso | 19 |
| Francisco Hernández | 29 |
| Ignacio Martin Goenaga | 34 |
| Ignacio Rodriguez-Guerra | 22 |
| Igor Genua (c)[11] | 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 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
editPablo 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,[14] and was a member of the squad that defeated Samoa 7s to secure a place in the 2016 Summer Olympics.[15][16][17]
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.[18]
Player records
editPlayers in bold are still active.
| No. | Player | Tries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pol Pla | 94 |
| 2 | Eduardo Lopez | 51 |
| 3 | Manuel Sainz-Trapaga | 40 |
| 4 | Eduardo Lopez | 39 |
| 5 | Juan Ramos | 38 |
2008 Hannover Sevens
editGroup A matches
| POR | GEO | ESP | GER | RUS | ROM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | – | 26–10 | 28–5 | 14–12 | 45–5 | 38–0 |
| Georgia | – | – | 28–5 | 26–0 | 5–0 | 12–0 |
| Spain | – | – | – | 26–22 | 7–29 | 14–0 |
| Germany | – | – | – | – | 17–12 | 24–21 |
| Russia | – | – | – | – | – | 19–19 |
| Romania | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | ± | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portugal |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 151 | 32 | +119 | 15 |
 Georgia |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 31 | +50 | 13 |
| Spain |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 57 | 107 | −50 | 9 |
 Germany |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 99 | −24 | 9 |
 Russia |
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 74 | 100 | −26 | 8 |
 Romania |
5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 31 | 100 | −69 | 6 |
See also
editReferences
edit- 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, 25 September 2012
- ↑ "Spain upsets Samoa to qualify for Rio 2016". blitzbokke.com. 19 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 August 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.
- ↑ IRB.com, HSBC Sevens World Series, Statistics
- ↑ "2011/12 IRB Sevens World Series, Hong Kong: Results – Final". Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ↑ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ↑ "Spain Squad". Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ↑ "Final rosters named for Singapore Sevens". AmericasRugbyNews.com. Americas Rugby News. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ↑ 2014 London Sevens
- ↑ "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, 25 September 2012
- ↑ "Stats Centre | HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series".