Romania to replace Spain in Springboks’ Rugby World Cup 2023 pool

The Springboks and Romania have faced each other only once before – at the World Cup in South Africa in 1995.

The match – the Springboks’ second of the tournament – was played at Newlands in Cape Town, where a much-changed Springbok side won 21-8, with Adriaan Richter, who captained the hosts for this match, scoring both their tries. Gavin Johsnon added a conversion and three penalty goals.

World Rugby announced on Thursday that an independent judicial committee considering a potential breach of Regulation 8 (eligibility for a national team) has determined that Spain fielded an ineligible player during two Rugby World Cup 2023 qualification matches and has imposed a 10-point deduction and a financial sanction.

In respect of the sanction, the independent committee, comprising Nigel Hampton QC (Chair), Pamela Woodman and Frank Hadden, imposed the following:

– The deduction of five points for each of the two matches in which the ineligible player was fielded by the Spanish union (10 points in total).

– World Rugby Regulation 8 stipulates mandatory financial penalties for breaches of the regulation. The committee imposed the fixed sanction of £25 000 and noted that a suspended sanction of £50 000 relating to a previous eligibility breach during qualification for Rugby World Cup 2019 would be payable.

Subject to Spain’s right of appeal, the 10-point deduction applied to the Rugby World Cup 2023 qualification table means that Romania will qualify as Europe 2 into Pool B replacing Spain, and Portugal will replace Romania in the Final Qualification Tournament in November 2022.

Spain ranked 15th, Romania 17th

Spain has a right of appeal within 14 days of the date of the full written decision of the committee.