Spain ‘more confident’ of upsetting Georgia as star savours ‘perfect time’ following Rugby World Cup feat
Yago Fernandez Vilar in action for Spain.
Spanish rugby has been on the rise for the past number of years.
In 2023 their U20s side marched to an incredible World Cup Trophy win in Kenya, the second-tier international competition at this level, which promoted them to the World Cup Championship in South Africa in 2024.
There was little expected from Spain in their first-ever campaign at this tournament, with relegation back to the Trophy for 2025 being the assumption.
However, the remarkable exploits of Yago Fernandez Vilar and his teammates in the relegation play-off meant Spain would participate once again at the most prestigious competition at this level.
Beat Fiji
In a sensational match, a 93rd-minute driving maul try by the Spanish led to scenes of sheer delight and exuberance from all those in red as they claimed a 24-19 victory to relegate Championship regulars Fiji.
Fernandez Vilar is now part of the senior setup that is looking to make history this weekend in Tbilisi.
The 21-year-old has been in Madrid training all week with Los Leones as they prepare to face Georgia. While he is not in the squad for the Rugby Europe Championship final, he is excited by the development of Spain.
He said: “I’m very lucky to be where I am because it is the perfect time to be involved in the national team.
“We are looking forward to it and hope we have a good game on Sunday. It will definitely be better than the last time we played Georgia a few weeks ago.
“I feel like it wasn’t a good game from us, and we didn’t really know what to expect from them, but now I feel we have done our work and know how they are going to play.
“We are definitely more confident, as in the home game we felt the energy wasn’t really there. In some areas that we are usually good at, and we were good against Portugal and the Netherlands, we probably didn’t perform well, and I feel like we will have it on Sunday.”
A Herculean effort will be needed by Spain to claim their first Rugby Europe Championship this century, with their last win over Georgia in 2012.
The Lelos will aim to reinforce their argument to have the chance to participate in the Six Nations, having won 12 of the last 13 championships.
World Cup qualified
Spain have already achieved their initial goal of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup in Australia, their first appearance at the competition since 1999.
A win on Sunday would be the cherry on top to a fine campaign as they continue to develop as a rugby nation.
Fernandez Vilar said: “This has been going on for a good few years; we are only seeing the results now. There has been loads of work put in the last few years in terms of working with younger lads through the U18s and U20s system, and it is really good for the country, and we are all really happy as it is an exciting time for Spanish Rugby.
“I feel like we are going through every step of the pathway, and it is very exciting, and I can’t wait to get to the World Cup and hopefully make the team.”
As of February this year, Fernandez Vilar has been stripping out for Alcobendas Rugby in Madrid, after spending six-and-a-half years playing his rugby in Dublin.
The Irish weather seems to have followed the 21-year-old to the Spanish capital, having rained in both the matches he has played for Alcobendas, but he is pleased to have made the move to Madrid.
He said: “I mainly did it as I was not getting much game time in Ireland as there is this rule where there are only 21 players allowed to be in the squad, so that wasn’t great for people like me who weren’t starting but were close to making the team, so my goal is to come back.
“I also decided to come to get more visibility from the Spain coach because it is hard to watch my matches in Ireland from Spain, so three months I thought was the perfect time to get a break from Ireland for a while and enjoy life in Madrid.”
Fernandez Vilar is the latest Catalan to play at the international level, a proud rugby region that produced Premiership champion Oriol Ripol (Sale Sharks), Champions Cup champion Joël Merkler (Toulouse) and Irish international Jordi Murphy (30 caps).
Catalonia was one of the founding members of Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur (Rugby Europe), the competition in which other founding members of Spain find themselves in a final on Sunday, March 16.
The Barcelona native believes that the popularity of rugby is growing throughout Spain, with the sport being pivotal to the life of Fernandez Vilar.
He said: “My dad used to play when he was younger, like 21.
“He met my mum through rugby as she used to play too, and then after a while, just before I was born, he stopped playing and kind of forgot about it, but we moved to a very small town an hour away from Barcelona, and nobody really knew rugby there, and one day we were just walking around, and he met someone he knew from rugby, and they got talking, discovering that they both lived there.
“So, between the two of them, they actually got a bit drunk after a few beers and decided to set up a team in the village (Sant Pere de Vilamajor).
“That is where I started, just for U8s and U10s, and that is where I started. Once I was too old not to play there, I moved to Sant Cugat.
“The first club in Spain was set up in Barcelona (Unió Esportiva Santboiana), and Catalunya has always had a big role in Spanish rugby, providing players, so there is definitely history there.”
Sevens success
A Spanish win on Sunday would only help accelerate the development of rugby in the European country at XVs, with Los Leones currently occupying second position in the 2025 HSBC SVNS series following impressive performances in Dubai, Perth and Vancouver.
Fernandez Vilar is pleased to see the growth of the sport in Spain that encapsulates his life.
He said: “I feel like it is starting to get to the point where it is reaching the level of not football but maybe basketball, and that is through social media.
“People are starting to know what rugby is, as back in the day when I was young, many may not have known what it was.”
by Brendan McGilligan