Iberian derby is key to the race

THE qualifying process for RWC from Europe is rarely a straightforward process and this time round is no exception.

The qualifying tournament, incorporating the 2021 and 2022 Rugby Europe Championships, has actually been a belter with an improving Spain, a rejuvenated Portugal and a much stronger Romania scrapping it out behind Georgia for the second automatic place with the third placed team going into the repechage.

And then came the expulsion of Russia, who had played seven of their ten games. What to do? World Rugby took the logical and fair decision to let all the Russia games thus far stand. They were bona fide internationals, not played in a war zone or under any undue pressures.

With three games left to adjudicate on, they declared the Russia matches, technically, as abandoned and award four points to their opponents.

Russia’s match with bottom placed Netherlands was academic while with Georgia all but qualified the result of that game was not absolutely crucial. The big one was Portugal against Russia. Portugal won narrowly in Russia and would have fancied their chances of winning in Lisbon but will argue they have been denied the chance of a bonus point.

Spain and Portugal will now contest an absolutely crucial game in Madrid today – possibly the biggest Iberian derby game in rugby’s history. A Spain win with a BP would put them in the box seat but they face a testing away game in Georgia in the final round while a Portuguese victory today would really put the cat amongst the pigeons.