Sport

Rugby in Spain Improving with Tortuga Win

Ronda’s Tortugas Rugby Club have won their final game of the season against the spirited and enthusiastic Sevillanos Coria Samuráis, finishing 79-33 in a game that held the attention of a large crowd despite the alternate attraction of the Football World Cup.

Spain is not known for its love of rugby, but in several areas of Andalucía the great game is starting to win important milestones with membership up and crowd support showing genuine appreciation for the spectacle. In Ronda the Tortugas are an almost exclusively Spanish team, a very different makeup from coastal teams that have large numbers of foreigners in their ranks.

Led by captain ‘Toros’ Aguilera, so named because he’s as big a bull, the Ronda Tortugas have enjoyed a very good season, playing teams from Málaga, Cadíz, and Sevilla provinces, as well as hosting a home game against Gibraltar.

Club President Hans Leuenberger told Ronda Today he is very happy with the team overall since they are a young side who have had to be taught to play rugby, none of the players grew up watching rugby or playing the game as kids, which makes their wins this year even more impressive.

The Ronda Tortugas currently sit in the Andalucían third division and share their home ground with Ronda Football CD, at the city sport ground close to Ronda’s Fería ground. The club also coaches three groups of younger players from 4 years to 17 years, as well as providing rugby practice to several men under the care of the Asprodisis association.