I have a lot of faith in this dynamic bunch of players, said Spain’s coach Santos

Spain’s men haven’t competed in a Rugby World Cup in 24 years, but if they keep up their recent momentum, a return to France is still possible. Nothing would make current head coach Santiago Santos, a former international, happier than to guide his team to the France Rugby World Cup 2023. Rugby Fans can buy RWC 2023 Tickets from our website.

Spain’s men haven’t competed in a Rugby World Cup in 24 years

However, the seasoned coach, who is now 60 and has been in his current position since 2013, has been around the block enough times to know that it’s always about the next job.

When his team lost their first three Rugby Europe Championship 2021 matches against Georgia, Romania, and Portugal, he didn’t get too down on himself, and he hasn’t been carried away with recent opening wins in the 2022 competition against the Netherlands and Russia.

Late in March, the points from the Championship tables from 2021 and 2022 will be merged, with the top two teams qualifying directly for Rugby World Cup 2023 and the third-placed team competing in a final qualifier later this year. Spain is currently third in the combined table after seven of ten games, behind leaders Georgia (31 points) and second-placed Romania (22 points).

They are only one point behind Romania, which makes this Sunday’s match at the Estadio Central UCM in Madrid (12:45 local, 11:45 GMT) all the more vital – and intriguing.

Keeping the emphasis on the future

We’ve put ourselves in a strong position to qualify for the RWC in 2023, but we realize there’s still a lot of rugby to be played, and our sole attention right now is on the upcoming match against Romania,” Santos said.

The Romanian team has improved in many different aspects of their game since Andy Robinson took over as head coach, and we expect a challenging match this weekend. We are, however, at home, and we must attempt to make the most of it. We want to offer the Spanish rugby public something to cheer about, and we want to give them something to cheer about right now.

I have a lot of faith in this fantastic set of players who are currently playing for the national team, and over the last year or so, I’ve tried to keep urging them to believe in themselves every time we’ve been together in camps. The players’ belief in themselves is rising all the time, and they’re now putting together 80-minute performances and don’t know when they’ll be beaten.

Spain’s battling characteristics were on display in the country’s most recent match, which took place on February 12 at the Yug Stadium in Sochi. From minute one, the game was back and forth – and in the balance – until Manuel Ordas of Spain scored a penalty with nine minutes left to make it 34-30. The real drama, however, was yet to come.

the top two teams qualifying directly for Rugby World Cup 2023

A group of people worked together to prepare for the challenge

Santos, a former front-rower, praised Ovejero’s performance, saying, “We started very well in the game, but we always knew Russia would come back at us at some point, and what pleased me the most is that the squad stayed calm and showed strong focus towards the finish to get the win.”

Winning away from home against any team in the Championship is difficult, so the players and coaching staff were ecstatic on that day. However, it says something about our collective ambition to qualify for the World Cup that we were all thinking about the Romania game soon after.

On Saturday, Portugal will host the Netherlands in round three of the Rugby Europe Championship for 2022, while Russia will visit Georgia on Sunday, February 27. Georgia will clinch one of the two Rugby World Cup 2023 slots up for grabs in the Rugby Europe Championship if they defeat Russia in Tbilisi on Sunday.

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