Ireland’s pool opponents Spain have been disqualified from next year’s Rugby World Cup in France after fielding an ineligible player in two matches of the 2021-22 Rugby Europe Championship, the Spanish federation and World Rugby announced on Thursday.
Spain were set to be in Ireland’s World Cup pool alongside South Africa, Scotland and a team from the Asia/Pacific region. Their disqualification means Ireland will now face Romania who will qualify automatically. The disqualification also means Portugal will go into a playoff for the tournament.
Spain secured a World Cup berth for the first time since 1999 with a 33-28 win over Portugal in March to finish second in the Rugby Europe Championship.
It was only the second time they had qualified for the global showpiece tournament, but the sport’s governing body, World Rugby, launched an investigation after a complaint was filed by Romania, who had missed out on automatic qualification after finishing just behind Spain in the group.
…
- April 29, 2022
