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Spain opened their Rugby Europe Championship 2024 campaign against the Netherlands on Saturday. Los Leones came away with a narrow 20-18 road victory.
The match was the debut of Spain under Pablo Bouza. The former Puma has been tasked with seeing Spain qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027. The Australian hosted Rugby World Cup will be the 7th since Spain’s first, and only, appearance on Rugby’s grandest stage.
The Spanish win featured a try to Argentine Martiniano Cian. The players from Club Tilcara in Paraná. Enter Rios made a 30th minute line break and scored. The try proved to be vital as the Netherlands fought back in the second-half.
Cian was not the only Argentine involved for Los Leones. Joaquín Domínguez, Bautista Güemes, and Iñaki Mateu all started while Estanislao Bay, Federico Casteglioni and Tomás Domínguez were replacements.
Next up for Spain is a home match on Sunday, February 11. Los Leones will take-on Germany in a second-round fixture at the Estadio Nacional Complutense in Madrid. Germany opened their campaign at home against Georgia on Sunday. Germany proved surprisingly competitive in losing 28-17.
In additional results, Portugal fell to a shock 10-6 loss against Belgium while Romania overcame Poland 20-8. Of note is that none of Germany, Belgium and Poland have previously played at a Rugby World Cup.
