Futbol Club Barcelona Rugby is a Catalan Spanish rugby union club. The senior team currently plays in División de Honor Élite, the second level of Spanish rugby union. Formed in 1924, the club is a member of the FC Barcelona family. The club currently plays its home games in La Teixonera.
Before the Spanish Civil War, the club won the Spain Championship on three occasions and the Catalonia Championship seven times. During the 1940s and 1950s Barcelona was one of the strongest rugby clubs in Spain, winning a further 10 Spanish championships. In 1953 and 1954 they won the first Spanish league titles.
History
Formation On September 21, 1924 Barça played its first match, a friendly against CADCI in Sant Boi de Llobregat. This inaugural match was attended by the then president and founder of the club, Joan Gamper, who was accompanied by numerous executives. Barcelona won the match 9-5.
Francisco Baltasar Albèniz was made delegate of the rugby club by Gamper, who was an admirer of the rugby and who saw Baltasar as a true FC Barcelona man, and a pioneer of this sport in Spain. For the club's silver anniversary, two international matches were staged: the first against Stade Toulousain, reigning champions in France that year, and the second an exhibition against players from both Stade Toulousain and MSP Perpignan. Both matches were played in Les Corts, and despite the lack of grass pitches, the French players gave a great demonstration of their skills.
Early years In the 1925–26 season, Barcelona rose in the ranks of Spanish rugby and, under Corominas their coach, put together a formidable XV: Blasco, Aximeno, Folch, Fuste, Carreras, Aguilar, Bori, Estapé, Fontanella, Pujalte, Rufus, Isar, Ruiz, Rues, Rossini, Baides and Miquel. They won the club's first championships in Catalonia and Spain, and went on to win Catalan championship five seasons in a row.
1925 also saw two matches with international opponents: the first a 9-8 victory against Witte Devils of Perpignan, then champions of the Rousillón seconds, the club's first success against a French side. The second was against Stade Toulousain, who again had won the French championship and who comfortably beat Barcelona.
Continued success The 1926-27 season was extremely successful, with the both Barcelona's first and second team winning the Catalonia Championships. The Spanish Championship wasn't held that year. A British soldiers' team visited the club, and was defeated 20-0.
Two more Catalonia Championships were won in 1927-28 and 1928-29. 1928 also saw Barcelona's first trip abroad, as they travelled to play Lyon.
During the 1929-30 season, the quality of the Catalonia Championship was said to increase notably, but Barcelona won once again, and also won the Spanish Championship, defeating Real Madrid 39-3.
More success followed in 1931-32, as both Barcelona's teams won the Catalonia Championship, and also the Catalonia Cup, which was held for the first time. Barcelona won the Spanish Championship for a third time, beating Madrid away 20-3. That year they played a friendly in Valencia, their first ever match against the F.U.E., held in a packed and enthusiastic Estadio de Vallejo. Barcelona won 25-5.
The club experienced problems in 1933-34, when the strain of not being able to train properly and not having a home ground for two years took its toll. The Catalonia Championship was won by UE Santboiana.
1934-35 was more positive, as the club's management rented a pitch in Avenida Diagonal, meaning regular training was possible, and a higher level of playing standards was achieved. The second XV won the Catalonia Championship, while the first XV won the second-ever Catalonia Cup.
Reorganisation After the Civil War, F.C. Barcelona underwent reorganisation, and it was not until 1940 that friendly matches were played, in various stadia in Montjuïc, Diagonal and Sant Boi. The club board, presided over by the Marques of the Mesa de Asta, Enrique Piñeyro, gave the rugby club great support, leading to the creation of the Catalan Federation of Rugby at the start of 1941. An exhibition match against R.C.D Espanyol was played to a full house in Manresa, and Barcelona won 3-0.
1941-42 was a golden season, heralding the club's eighth Catalonia Championship and its fourth Spain Championship. Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 28-0 in the final, before beating SEU Madrid 17-8 in the final. Barcelona's captain Sardá received the cup from General José Moscardó Ituarte, head of the National Sports Delegation at the time. Barcelona's president Piñeyro travelled with the side to Madrid to offer the team moral support.
In 1945-46, the first and second teams once again won the Catalonia Championship. The first team won the Spain Championship, now known as the Generalísimo Cup, defeating Frente de Juventudes de Madrid 9-3 in the semi-final, and, in Les Corts, winning the final 23-13 against SEU Madrid.
Over the next two decades, Barcelona enjoyed regular success, and by 1969 had won 19 Catalonia Championship and 14 Spain Championships, along with the Pyrenees Cup and the Iberian Cup. They won the first two División de Honor titles in 1953 and 1954, but did not participate in the tournament for fifteen seasons thereafter. In 1966, they won the Generalísimo Cupm the successor to the Spain Championship, when they beat neighbours Universitario 3-0 in the final, led by the international player Rocabert, and club legend Ramón Rabassa as their coach.
By 1972-73, the club was directed by Dalmacio Moner with Francisco Gallardo as his assistant, someone who had been connected with the club his whole life. These two men, along with Francisco Baltasar, were the men who would lead the club through both triumphs and troubles.
One of the major problems the club has had to face regularly is a lack of a permanent playing ground. Enrique Llaudet, club president in 1966, announced a new ground was in the pipeline, but the construction of the Palau de Gel and the Palau Blaugrana obligated the rugby team to move. Once the team was able to move back to its home ground, the finished at the top end of the table in 1972-73.
Recent years Since the mid-1970s, Barcelona have been promoted and relegated several times, moving between the top three tiers of rugby in Spain. In 1985, they won the Copa del Rey de Rugby, the latest successor of the Spain Championship, but spent much of the 1990s and early 2000s languishing in the lower tiers.
They were promoted to the top tier in 2006, after signing an agreement to replace the downsizing USAP Barcelona,FC Barcelona acquires sports rights of USAP Barcelona El Mundo Deportivo, September 7, 2006FC Barcelona–USAP Barcelona agreement El Mundo Deportivo, August 11, 2006 but were relegated in the 2007-08 season. According to the terms of their agreement with USAP Barcelona, this meant they were actually demoted to the third tier, the same division in which their second team were playing. This in turn meant the seconds were relegated to regional levels, and their third team was disbanded. However, both the first and second team were promoted in 2009-10, and the first team, after playing in the second tier División de Honor B for five seasons, were promoted to the top tier División de Honor in 2014.
In 2018, Barcelona won the first-ever Catalan Supercup, beating Santboiana 21-17. In 2019, they reached the final of the Copa del Rey de Rugby, losing 23-24 in agonising fashion to Alcobendas, who scored a converted try in the 90th minute of play. In the same season, they finished 6th in the División de Honor, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time.
Past performances SeasonTierDivisionPos.Notes1952–531 División de Honor1stLeague champion1953–541 División de Honor1stLeague champion1954–69 DNP 1969–701 División de Honor2nd 1970–711 División de Honor3rd 1971–721 División de Honor8th 1972–731 División de Honor6th 1973–741 División de Honor9th 1974–751 División de Honor10th↓1975–762 Primera Nacional2nd 1976–772 Primera Nacional4th 1977–782 Primera Nacional2nd↑1978–791 División de Honor4th 1979–801 División de Honor4th 1980–811 División de Honor4th 1981–821 División de Honor3rd↓1982–832 Primera Nacional1st↑1983–841 División de Honor5th 1984–851 División de Honor4th 1985–861 División de Honor7th↓1986–95 DNP 1995–962 Primera Nacional7th 1996–972 Primera Nacional8th 1997–982 Primera Nacional5th 1998–993 Primera Nacional3rd 1999–003 Primera Nacional4th 2000–013 Primera Nacional4th 2001–023 Primera Nacional7th SeasonTierDivisionPos.Notes2002–033 Primera Nacional5th 2003–043 Primera Nacional4th 2004–053 Primera Nacional4th 2005–063 Primera Nacional3rd↑2006–071 División de Honor6th 2007–081 División de Honor10th↓2008–093 Primera Nacional2nd↑2009–102 División de Honor B2nd 2010–112 División de Honor B3rd 2011–122 División de Honor B6th 2012–132 División de Honor B4th 2013–142 División de Honor B / ↑2014–151 División de Honor11th 2015–161 División de Honor7th2016–171División de Honor10th2017–181División de Honor7th2018–191División de Honor6th2019–201División de Honor6th2020–211División de Honor5th2021–221División de Honor7th2022–231División de Honor6th2023–241División de Honor11th2024–251División de Honor8th2025–261División de Honor11th↓2026–272División de Honor Élite-
29 seasons in División de Honor
Club honours División de Honor: 2 1952–53, 1953–54 División de Honor B de Rugby: 1 2013-14 Primera Nacional: 1 1982-83 Spain Championships/Copa del Rey: 16 1926, 1930, 1932, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1965, 1983, 1985 Supercopa de España: 1 1983 Copa Ibérica: 1 1970 Pyrenees cup: 1 1966-67 Campionats de Catalunya: 22 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1936, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1968, 1969, 1995, 2016, 2019 Copes Catalanes: 4 1982, 2003, 2008, 2017 Levante Club Leagues: 2 1982, 1983 Catalan supercup de rugby: 2 2018, 2022 Youth team Campionat d'Espanya juvenil de rugbs: 1 2003 Campionat de Catalunya de 2ª: 1 1967 Campionats de Catalunya juvenil 2: 2 2000, 2006 Copes Catalanes juvenil: 4 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004
Notable players Huw Maldwyn Williams - Ex Bath academy player Teddy Barron - USA U20 international Sergio Guerrero - 6 caps for Spain Víctor Marlet - 8 caps for Spain Andrei Kovalenco - 37 caps for Spain (including the 1999 Rugby World Cup) Joan Losada - Player of the Spanish national rugby sevens team at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pol Pla - Player of the Spanish national rugby sevens team at the 2016 Summer Olympics
See also Rugby union in Spain
References
External links
Squad