The Spain national rugby league team represents Spain in the sport of rugby league football, running under the auspices of the Asociación Española de Rugby League.
History The first international rugby league in Spain was played in the region of Catalonia in 2009, with a Catalonia national rugby league team playing several matches against European nations. However, desiring to represent only Catalonia and not the entirety of Spain, the Catalonia team was denied RLEF membership and disappeared from international competition shortly afterwards.
Rugby league in Spain began once again in 2013, with a national body (Asociación Española de Rugby League) being formed and admitted to the RLEF by the end of that year.RLEF profile - Spain The first Spanish domestic competition kicked off in 2013 with clubs based in the Valencian Community, and the national team played its first match on May 25, 2014,Spain set for emotional international rugby league debut defeating Belgium in Brussels. The first captain was Aitor Davila and the first Spanish try at international level was scored by Gonzalo Morro.RLEF match report - Belgium vs Spain
2017 Rugby League World Cup
Qualifying
On 9 May 2015, Spain and Latvia kicked off proceedings for the qualifying fixtures for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying. It was a do or die match with the winner advancing to a qualifying group stage, already containing Malta and Greece, while the other would lose their chance of qualifying for their first ever World Cup. The Spaniards were the better team, winning the match by 20 points which therefore made them advance to the European C qualifying group stage. The team ended up winning the tournament and now advance to the final round robin tournament.RLEF match report - Latvia vs Spain In the final phase of qualifying, Spain took on Italy and Ireland, however two losses in those matches saw them miss out in their bid to qualify for their first ever Rugby League World Cup.
Current squad The 22-man national team squad selected for the first match day of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup European play-off tournament.
Pos.PlayerCapsPointsClubLuc Franco514 Racing Club Albi XIIIAlexis Escamilia00 AS CarcassonneRomain Franco24 Catalans DragonsHadriel Mohamed Gonzales720 Torrent TigresLudovic Renu00 Villegailhenc-Aragon XIIIAlex Doutres732 Palau XIII BroncosSimon Juarez00 Racing Club Albi XIIIAntonio Puerta716 Custodians MadridDaniel Garcia960 CrosfieldsMiguel Blanco-Charters48 Seaton RangersRomain Pallares212 AS CarcassonneAdria Alonso100 Xativa RoostersCarlos Font10 Xativa RoostersMaxime Garcia20 Racing Club Albi XIIIJuan Mudarra20 Custodians MadridJulien Agullo00 AS CarcassonneKevin Aparicio40 Rennes ÉCEmir-Walid Bouregba00 Lézignan SangliersAnthony Delgado24 AS CarcassonneGaetan Estruga00 Racing Club Albi XIIIRafael Garcia210 Custodians MadridMiquel Tomas Enrique00 Torrent Tigres
Competitive record Overview International record for the Spain national team as of 29 September 2022. Team Play Win Draw Loss Win% For Against Difference 2 2 0 0 100% 66 20 +46 1 0 0 1 0% 16 32 –16 1 1 0 0 100% 76 4 +72 2 0 0 2 0% 14 88 –74 2 0 0 2 0% 8 128 –120 1 1 0 0 100% 32 12 +20 1 1 0 0 100% 40 30 +10 1 0 0 1 0% 30 36 –6 2 1 0 1 50% 38 64 –26 2 0 0 2 0% 24 88 –64Total15609 40.00% 344 502 –158
Results
2010s
Date Home Result Away Competition Venue Crowd Report1 25 May 2014 10–12 Friendly Neder-Over-Heembeek ERL2 8 June 2014 54–10 Friendly Moncada, Valencia ERL3 9 May 2015 12–32 2015 European Championship C Riga 150 ERL4 6 June 2015 16–32 Friendly Valencia ERL5 19 September 2015 36–24 B Friendly Muro de Alcoy 1,200 ERL6 26 September 2015 40–30 2015 European Championship C Valencia ERL7 17 October 2015 4–76 Athens ERL8 24 September 2016 4–64 Friendly Valencia ERL9 15 October 2016 40–6 2017 World Cup Qualifying Fili Stadium, Moscow 427 ERL10 22 October 2016 6–46 Valencia 323 ERL11 10 June 2017 94–4 Friendly Saluzzo ERL12 6 October 2018 32–24 European Championship B Valencia ERL13 20 October 2018 24–20 Makiš Stadium, Belgrade 150 ERL14 26 October 2019 8–42 2021 World Cup Qualifying Ciutat de I'Esport Xàtiva 1,013 ERL15 2 November 2019 34–4 Stadio G. Teghil, Lignano Sabbiadoro ERL
2020s
Date Home Result Away Competition Venue Crowd Report16 17 September 2022 30–36 Friendly Getafe ERL
World Cup World Cup recordYearRoundPositionGPWLD 2017 Did not qualify 2021 Did not qualifyTotal0 Titles0/130000
Honours European Bowl: 2015
IRL Rankings
See also
References