Spain will embark on a mid-year tour to South America in June. Los Leones will embark on a tour following the final of the Liga Heineken on May 26.
Los Leones will travel on June 01 for Brazil. There they are to play against Os Tupis on either June 08 or 09. The match will mark the second test between the countries and the first in South America. The prior fixture was in Villajoyosa in November 2017.
Following the match in Brazil Los Leones will travel to Chile to face Los Cóndores on the weekend over June 15-16. The match is to be the sixth test match between the countries. Spain has a favorable record of three wins and two losses from the prior matches.
The tour will conclude in Uruguay. The date for the fixture has been confirmed by Referí as being June 22. It will be played at the Estadio Charrúa, the home of Uruguayan rugby. For Los Teros the match is to be a farewell before traveling to Japan for RWC 2019.
The match in Montevideo will be the twelfth between the countries. Uruguay has the upper hand with six wins with Spain having won on five occasions.
For Spain the tour is part of the country’s quest to successfully qualify for RWC 2023. Northern neighbors, France will be the hosts of that year’s Rugby World Cup.
In 2018 Spain was disqualified from RWC qualifiers after it was found guilty of fielding two players who were not eligible for Spain due to prior representation for France u20s vs Wales u20s. The union accepted the final result and is now actively seeking to qualify for 2023.
Spain’s one RWC appearance was in 1999. In that same RWC Uruguay debuted against Spain in the opening game of Pool A in Galashiels, Scotland. Los Teros were 27-15 winners on that occasion.