Spain will appear in a men’s Rugby World Cup for the first time since 1999 after reaching the Rugby Europe Championship semi-finals on Sunday.
The 2027 Rugby World Cup will be held in Australia from 1 October to 13 November.
Portugal join the Spanish team to achieve back-to-back World Cups, after also qualifying for the 2027 tournament in Australia.
Spain beat Switzerland 43-13 in Yverdon-les-Bains to qualify.
Los Leones, as the team is known in Spanish, previously qualified for the 2023 World Cup but were deducted points for fielding an ineligible player twice and fell out of position. They were also thrown out of qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup for using ineligible players. ALSO READ: Spain thrown out of Rugby World Cup for fielding ineligible player.
Spain’s only other appearance in rugby union’s top event was in 1999 in Scotland, where the team lost all three of its pool games against Uruguay, South Africa and Scotland.
The Portuguese, nicknamed Os Lobos, beat visiting Germany 56-14 to go two for two in the REC, Europe’s second-tier competition after the Six Nations.
Portugal went without a win in their World Cup debut in 2007 in France but made a huge splash on returning in 2023 in France by beating quarterfinal-bound Fiji and drawing with Georgia.
Spain, Portugal, Georgia and Romania secured the four direct qualifying places from Europe this weekend, leaving eight more qualifying spots open around the world.
The 2027 World Cup will feature 24 teams for the first time, up from 20.
👋🏻 Nos vemos en Australia #LoQueNosUne | #LosLeones pic.twitter.com/klYxtlCTzN
— España Rugby (@ferugby) February 9, 2025
Sign up for the FREE Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
Please support Spain in English with a donation.
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.
Click here for further details on how to ADVERTISE with us.