SO Spain have lost their appeal with World Rugby and their absence from RWC2023 and a £75,000 fine is confirmed, a decision which is ludicrously harsh and threatens to kill the considerable progress in Spanish rugby stone dead.
A number of their current crop of players, many of whom have lost money in representing Spain and annoyed their employers in the case of French-based players, have announced their retirement in disgust while Spain’s main rugby magazine for the last 14 years has closed down.