Spain made it two wins from two in the Women’s Rugby Europe Championship 2025 on Saturday with a 69-0 home triumph over Sweden.
It means that the reigning champions are now just one win away from retaining their crown, but they will be wary of Netherlands this coming weekend given that the latter saw off Portugal 40-5 on Sunday.
Spain went into their clash with Sweden off the back of an opening win against Portugal on March 29, but that was only 19-7 and they wanted to find more fluidity here.
And they did in the Estadio El Vergeret in Tavernes de la Valldigna to put Sweden, who were playing their first game of the 2025 competition, to the sword.
It took Spain 10 minutes to break the deadlock, full-back Lea Ducher scoring the try and converting it.
Centre Claudia Cano then added try number two six minutes later and it was 12-0.
Sweden then held out until the 31st minute when second-row Linnea Flyman was yellow carded and that made the rest of the half tricky for them.
Spain added three tries when Flyman was off, hooker Cristina Blanco, second-row Anna Puig and No.8 Valantino Perez all scoring with Ducher converting one and it was 29-0 at the interval.
By early in the second period Sweden were back to 15, but their resistance had been broken and 40 points were added by Spain in that half.
Tighthead prop Eider Garcia Fuentes scored a try and then Perez scored her second and with both converted by Ducher it was 43-0.
The next try by replacement Gemma Silva made it 50-0 with Ducher’s conversion before the hour mark.
In the last 20 minutes, winger Clara Piquero, Ducher and sub Zahia Perez all scored tries and Ducher converted two for Spain who, despite suffering a late yellow card, won comfortably 69-0.
On Sunday, Netherlands got their campaign underway with a 40-5 home victory over Portugal in the National Rugby Center in Amsterdam.
Most of the action here came in the second half as, in the first, it took 30 minutes for any points to be posted on the board.
That was a try from winger Kika Mulling for Netherlands converted by stand-off Pleuni Kievit.
Breaking the deadlock seemed to give Netherlands a spring in their step because they went on to score a further 33 points after the break.
By the 50th minute they were 19-0 up with try number two coming from scrum-half Esmee Ligtvoet and then try number three coming from back-row Isa Prins with one converted by Kievit.
The one-way traffic continued and, by the time there was 12 minutes to go, it was 33-0 with replacement Gwen Van Der Schoot and Mulling adding further tries and Kievit converting them.
Full-back Daniela Correia scored a consolation try for Portugal, but, fittingly, the last word went to the Netherlands when winger Gaya Van Nifterik scored with Kievit converting to end it at 40-5 and set up an exciting Spain-Netherlands game this coming Saturday.
Meanwhile, Belgium have been crowned women’s Rugby Europe Trophy winners after a 44-13 triumph at home to Finland on Saturday.
That backed up their hard fought 23-19 away win to Germany last month and sees them finish top of the three-team event standings.
By Gary Heatly
Photos by Walter Degirolmo & Rugby-Shots and Laurent Lefebvre
