100 years later, Catalan rugby beats with the same force

BarcelonaOn February 11, 1923, a group of enthusiasts founded the Catalan Rugby Federation. A century later, the flame is still burning and the spirit is the same. The Catalan Federation will celebrate its centenary with a friendly match between Catalonia and Sweden that will be played this Sunday at 12.30 at the Foixarda stadium in Barcelona. “The parents of the Federation had already created clubs before. Among these parents was Baldiri Aleu, who would be treasurer and had been the person who had brought rugby to Catalonia for the first time and had founded the Santboiana”, explains Ignasi Planas, current president of the Catalan Federation. “Un dels fundadors era en David Cuyàs, pare de Romà Cuyàs, que arribaria a ser president del Comitè Olímpic Espanyol. David Cuyàs seria el primer president de la Federació Catalana, a més de ser un dels responsables de crear la secció de rugbi del CN Barcelona”, adds Planas with pride, as he is also from CN Barcelona. A century later, the Catalan Rugby Federation is still chaired by a person linked to this club.

“Vaig repassar els estatus d’aquella època: estaven escrits en castellà, ja que era l’únic idioma oficial, però el text deia que l’idioma oficial era el català. Als estatuts, l’únic apunt a mà el va fer el governador civil, que va escriure que podien fer servir l’idioma que volguessin a les reunions, però que si feien actes públics fessin servir el castellà, la llengua oficial, i no el català, com volien fer els fundadors”, recorda Planas, que adds that “the identity of the Federation is still similar to 100 years ago. So are the problems. In an article from 1929, it is said that the lack of playing fields is an obstacle that does not help to develop this sport. Well, a century later we’re still the same”, he adds, since one of the historical claims of the Catalan Rugby Federation is to have more playing fields, especially in Barcelona, ​​where they don’t have many. The director general of the Catalan Sports Council, Aleix Villatoro, took part in the presentation of the match, and stated that “we are looking for ways to find these spaces to play rugby”. And he added: “Rugby is one of our priorities, it is a clamorous claim, but an administration alone cannot find the fields to play on.”

The presentation ceremony of the game, held at the Museu Colet in Barcelona, ​​was attended by the selectors of Catalonia Diego Godoy and Jean-Luc Trogno; the captain, Joan Losada; the Swedish coach, Alex Leybourne, and the Swedish Rugby Federation’s performance director, Oriol Ripol. Coincidence or fate have wanted Ripol, surely the best Catalan rugby player in history, to be one of the protagonists of the weekend: “It is a matter of pride and luck to be able to be present in this match, even if it is in the rival team”, explained Ripol, who played for many years in England. Planas insisted on the importance of the anniversary that is being celebrated: “Becoming a centenary federation makes you aware of the weight and importance of history, but above all of the potential that our sport has. We want to take advantage of the centenary to claim the role that rugby wants to play in society. With the right support we can grow much more”.

Regarding the match, Trogno highlighted the toughness of the opponent. “Sweden have some very tough players and will make things very difficult for us, but I have confidence in the talent and skill of our players.” The XV de la Ginesta, which has presented a special shirt for this match, has been able to do two training sessions, as the calendar, with the clubs competing in the League and the Cup, has not helped. “We will play in the typical Catalan style, the same one I found 25 years ago when I arrived in Catalonia. Then they told me that here we are not tall and strong, but we can play with rhythm, look for the spaces, play quickly and be ready “said Trogno. Catalonia’s last game was in 2017, but the idea is to play again next June 10 against the Basque Country. For the captain, Joan Losada, the game against the Swedes is an “opportunity to give a good game to our fans. The Catalan national team has not played since 2017 and we really want to put on the shirt and play a great game of rugby”. The match can be followed live on La Xarxa+.

Planas, by the way, has spoken about the historic claim to obtain the official status of the Catalan national team, since the Catalan Federation was founded before Espanyola and, in fact, the Catalan would be one of the founders of the International Amateur Federation in 1934. “I am very skeptical, the new sports law would certainly open the door, since we are earlier in foundation than Espanyola and it is a very deep-rooted sport, but the central government and the Federation Espanyola have never shown a willingness to dialogue, with a position radically against it.” An amendment agreed by the Basque government and the central government to the new sports law says that “autonomous sports federations will be able to participate directly in the international arena, if the corresponding international federation foresees participation in the case of modalities or specialties sports with historical and social roots in their respective autonomous community”, as well as “in the event that the autonomous federation had been part of an international federation before the constitution of the corresponding Spanish federation”. This second case, for example, is that of the Catalan Rugby Federation.