It is believed that rugby union came to Spain via its French neighbours at the beginning of the 20th century. Clubs and university teams soon sprung up, and the first official national side was assembled in 1929. Most of Spain's early tests were against regional opponents, in the Mediterranean and across continental Europe.
Spain's only Rugby World Cup appearance to date was at the 1999 competition, during which they scored only 18 points, and were eliminated at the pool stage. However, in early 2022, "Los Leones" qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, after beating rivals Portugal; the Spaniards will of course be keen to improve on their last World Cup showing, but in qualifying at all they have already achieved a massive feat!
