Qualified for the 2023 World Cup, Spain will soon be eliminated on the green carpet?

On March 13, the XV of Spain beat Portugal (33-28) in Madrid, and qualified for the 2023 World Cup in France, the second in its history after 1999. But the joy of the little "mundillo" rugby across the Pyrenees – whose performance exceptionally made the front page of the sports daily

– has left room for doubt.

On Monday, World Rugby announced the opening of an investigation after being "informed of a potential violation concerning a member of the Spanish senior men's national team" "After carrying out an initial investigation, the international federation believes that an independent formal review is warranted,” the body continued, saying the Spanish Rugby Federation cooperated fully throughout the original investigation.

According to local media, pillar Gavin van den Berg, born in South Africa but who has been playing in Spain since 2018, would be targeted.

He had been aligned twice against the Netherlands (victories 43-0 in 2020 and 52-7 in 2021), during Tournament B, qualifying for the 2023 World Cup. But he would not have completed the three years without interruption necessary to be eligible, according to World Rugby regulations.

Spain already sanctioned for the same reason in 2018

In 2018, Spain, Romania and Belgium were already sanctioned for using ineligible players, allowing Russia to participate in the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

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• Spain

• Sport

• Rugby

• Rugby World Cup

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