Spain Now Just 80 Minutes Away from Qualifying for RWC 2019

Spain are now just 80 minutes away from qualifying for RWC 2019. Los Leones defeated Germany today in a RWC qualifying match. The 84-10 victory was Spain’s largest since 1996 and has sees them on the verge of qualifying for a second Rugby World Cup.

Twenty Year Wait
Spain’s prior appearance at a RWC was in 1999. That edition of the tournament was the first following expansion from 16 to 20 participants. Unlike the subsequent RWCs in 1999 there were five pools of four. Spain faced Scotland, South Africa and Uruguay.

Since then Europe has seen Georgia, Portugal and Russia all debuting in RWCs. In 2011 Russia did so with Romania entering repechage. This time around the Oaks appear likely to do so with Spain qualifying directly.

Standing in Spain’s way is a victory next weekend over Belgium. A win will see Spain officially qualifying for Pool A of RWC 2019. The prize is not only a return to a RWC after twenty years but also a place in the tournament opener against Japan. Spain has everything to play for.

Romania’s task is tougher than Spain’s. The Oaks will face Portugal first with the winner advancing to a Play-Off Final against Samoa. The winner will be the fifth and final participant in Pool A while the loser will enter repechage, where Canada nervously await.

Canada and either Samoa or Romania – provided Spain beat Belgium and Romania beat Portugal – are to be joined by Africa 2 and the winner of an Asia / Oceania play-off.

The repechage winner will be determined in November. With it all twenty places at Japan 2019 will have been finalized. The qualifying results and remaining fixtures mean that one of  Canada, Romania and Samoa will miss out.

Make no mistake Canada’s losses against Uruguay and Romania’s against Spain have shaken up the tournament.

Conquering Germany
Spain’s win today was nothing short of spectacular. Los Leones 84-10 triumph ranks as their third biggest in history. Their greatest win was a 90-8 victory over the Czech Republic in 1995 while one year later they downed Belgium 77-0.

It would take a brave pundit to bet on a repeat of the 1996 scoreline against Belgium. Spain, nevertheless, are heavy favorites and are well placed to claim a comfortable victory.

Belgium’s latest match was on Saturday. They fell 62-12 against Romania in Buzau. Prior to that they defeated Germany 69-15. Of note is that Spain defeated Romania by 22-10 last month and could have won by more. Spain also recorded a 20-13 away win over Russia. All signs are pointing to a Spanish victory next weekend against Belgium.

Spain’s decision to rest their top players in the recent non-RWC qualifying match against Georgia was deliberate and may have been a masterstroke.

The make-up of Spain’s player roster is a mixture of home grown talent and the calling-upon of those who qualify via player eligibility laws. Among those who do are Argentine players Ignacio Contardi Medina, Aníbal Bonan, Federico Casteglioni and Fernando Martín Lopez Pérez. All have been heavily involved in the qualifying with Contardi Medina scoring a superb try against Germany.

Spain’s RWC 2019 Campaign
With a win over Belgium Los Leones will be Europe 1. That will see them joining Ireland, Japan, Scotland and the Play-Off Winner in Pool A. The pool will ask notable questions of Spain though it is not the toughest in the tournament.

The match schedule is problematic with Europe 1 being asked to play their first two matches on a turn-around of just three rest days. They will have played twice before Uruguay places for the first time.

The remainder is a negotiable fixture list. Inevitable questioning will be made as to whether World Rugby and the organizing committee did they best they could. The possibility of a weakened line-up for game one or two is very high.

DATE	FIXTURE	VENUE
Friday September 20	Europe 1 vs Japan	Tokyo Stadium
Tuesday September 24	Europe 1 vs Play-Off Winner	Kumagaya
Thursday October 03	Europe 1 vs Ireland	Kobe
Wednesday October 09	Europe 1 vs Scotland	Shizuoka