Laura Duckett
SPAIN will host the final of next year’s Rugby European Championships in Bilbao.
It will be held at the 53,289-capacity San Mames Stadium, home of the Athletic Bilbao football team.
”We are very excited to be taking the best club rugby in the world to fans in what is largely a new market,” European Professional Club Rugby chairman Simon Halliday said.
“Bilbao is an excellent destination which breaks new ground for our tournaments and we see this as a big step in the expansion of our sport across the continent.”
Spain is ranked 18th in the world and has competed only once in the Rugby World Cup in 1999, when it lost all three group games. The country’s national team annually takes part in the European Nations Cup, the highest European rugby championship outside the Six Nations tournament.
