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Rugby league in Spain

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Rugby league in Spain
The Custodians club of Madrid celebrate winning the 2016–17 season
CountrySpain
Governing bodySpanish Rugby League Association
National team(s)Men's
Nickname(s)Rugby XIII
Rugby Lliga (in Catalan)
Audience records
Single match31,555 – Catalans Dragons vs Wigan Warriors at Camp Nou, Barcelona, 18 May 2019

Rugby league is a team sport that is played in several regions of Spain.

History

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Foundations in Catalonia

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See also: Rugby league in Catalonia

Rugby league in Spain effectively began in France (an established sport in France since in 1930s) with several attempts by French Catalan clubs to expand interest of the sport to Spanish Catalonia.

The first of these attempts occurred on 30 May 1993, when Perpignan-based XIII Catalan invited Huddersfield Giants to contested a friendly named "The Alex Angel Trophy" at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, with Huddersfield won 23–22.[1]

The first governing body of rugby league in Spain was formed in Catalonia in 2007 solely for Catalonia. The Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga was responsible for Catalan Rugby League Championship and the Catalonia national rugby league team and was granted observer status of the Rugby League European Federation (RLEF) in 2008.[2] The body however was expelled from the RLEF in 2014 due to lack of activity since 2010.[3]

During this time Catalans Dragons, a French club playing in the British league formed from the merging of the aforementioned XIII Catalan and AS Saint-Estève, played a regular season game on 20 June 2009, at Barcelona's Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys against Warrington. Catalans led the match at halftime 10–6, but Warrington finished as the winners beating the Dragons 24–12.[4]

Spanish Governance

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In 2013, the Spanish Rugby League Association was formed governing rugby league the whole county. The body were granted observer status with the RLEF upon formation[5][6] and promoted to affiliate members in 2015.[7]

Spain attempted World Cup qualification for the first time in 2017, however lost both group games in Europe Pool B to Ireland and Russia.

In 2019 Catalan Dragons set a world record for the highest attended non-magic regular season Super League match attendance, electing to hold their home game against Wigan Warriors at the Camp Nou, attracting a crowd of 31,555.[8]

Spain attempted World Cup qualification again in 2021, but again lost both pool matches to Italy and again Ireland.

Governing body

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Main article: Spanish Rugby League Association

The governing body for the sport in Spain is the Spanish Rugby League Association, which was formed in 2013.

Competitions

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The Campeonato Nacional de Liga (National League Championship) began in March 2014 with four clubs. The first Copa de España de Rugby League (Spanish Rugby League Cup) took place later in the same season.[9] For the third season, which began in late 2015, the league had eight teams across two conferences.[10] In the 2017–18 season the league had been split into two divisions: Serie A, with six teams, and Serie B.[11] However, for 2018–19 only three teams were recorded as taking part in the Championship.[12]

Domestic champions

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List of winners
Year League Cup Ref.
2014 Irreductibles Edetans Ciencias Valencia [9][13]
2015 Custodians Madrid Valencian Warriors [14][15]
2016 Torrent Tigres Custodians Madrid [16][17]
2017 Custodians Madrid Torrent Tigres [18][11]
2018 Torrent Tigres [19]
2019 Torrent Tigres [12]

National team

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Men's

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Main article: Spain national rugby league team

The Spain national rugby league team was formed in 2014 and defeated Belgium in their first match. By beating Latvia in a playoff and then Malta and Greece in an initial qualifying group in 2015, they advanced to the final qualifying stage for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, where they were placed in a three team group (Pool B) alongside Russia and Ireland. Their first result was a 6-40 loss to Russia, at Fili Stadium, Moscow on 15 October 2016,[20] and their second a 46-6 defeat by Ireland, which resulted in their elimination.

Wheelchair

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The Spain national wheelchair rugby league team took part in the 2017 and 2021 World Cups.[21][22]

Current squad

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Squad selected for 21 November 2024 fixture against  England.[23]

Results

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Date Opponent Score Competition Ref.
22 July 2017  Italy 39–68 2017 World Cup
24 July 2017  Scotland 54–18
25 July 2017  Australia 40–49
27 July 2017  Wales 45–66
3 September 2022  France 4–108 Friendly
3 November 2022  Ireland 55–32 2021 World Cup
6 November 2022  England 12–104
9 November 2022  Australia 32–52
21 November 2024  England 28–58 Friendly

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Club History". giantsrl.com. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Rugby League Europe Federation". Archived from the original on 2009-03-09. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  3. ^ "Germany & Catalonia lose status". RLIF. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Catalans Dragons 12–24 Warrington". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 20 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  5. ^ "RLEF recognises Spanish national governing body". RLEF. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  6. ^ "LA AERL YA FORMA PARTE DE LA RLEF" (in Spanish). spainrugbyleague.com. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Spain becomes twentieth RLEF member". RLEF. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  8. ^ "A record crowd in Barcelona". rugby-league.com. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Irreductibles Edetans take inaugural Spanish Championship". European Rugby League. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Expanded Spanish Rugby League Championship kicks off". European Rugby League. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Spanish season set to kick off". European Rugby League. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Rugby League European Federation. p. 41. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Ciencias Valencia claim inaugural Spanish Cup". European Rugby League. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Custodians Madrid are Spanish Champions". European Rugby League. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Valencian Warriors win Spanish Cup Final". European Rugby League. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Torrent Tigres claim Spanish Rugby League Championship title". European Rugby League. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  17. ^ "News de l'étranger" (in French). FFRXIII. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Custodians and Tigres set for Grand Final". European Rugby League. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). Rugby League European Federation. p. 21. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2021".
  21. ^ "Wheelchair World Cup". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Spain 55 32 Ireland". European Rugby League. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  23. ^ https://www.intrl.sport/article/334/wheelchair-rugby-league-squads-announced-for-internationals-in-france
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