2. Spain – 1999 Rugby World Cup
Spain were on track to make their second appearance at the Rugby World Cup this year, as they secured qualification yet were subsequently disqualified. Spain fielded an illegal player during their qualification matches, as South African-born prop Gavin Van Den Berg was retrospectively deemed ineligible by World Rugby, despite appeals following his 36-month residency in Spain.
Romania have since replaced Spain at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and bizarrely, this is not the only time that Spain have been disqualified from the competition after achieving qualification. The same circumstances happened ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with illegal players fielded during the 2018 Rugby Europe Championship, costing Spain their spot in Japan.
Romania were also removed under the same circumstances for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with Russia taking their place. So far, Spain’s one and only run at the Rugby World Cup came at the 1999 competition. Spain were seeded into Pool A, and faced tough opposition against the reigning world champions South Africa, as well as Scotland and Uruguay.
Despite the best efforts of Spain’s Ukrainian-born fly half Andriy Kovalenco, he could only kick five penalties for his side, with Uruguay running in four tries for a 27-15 win. After defeat to the perceived ‘beatable’ Uruguayans, Spanish expectations were low for their forthcoming encounters with the ‘Boks and Scotland. Both matches saw one way traffic run over Spain, and they were promptly dumped out of the Rugby World Cup for their efforts.
South Africa fielded a weakened side, yet were still more than comfortable victors with a 47-3 triumph in Murrayfield Stadium. Spain then returned to Edinburgh for a clash against their less than welcoming hosts, as Scotland put Spain to the sword with seven tries, for a 48-0 shut-out which delighted the 17,000 fans in attendance.