Andorra national rugby union team

Andorra
Union Federació Andorrana de Rugby
Nickname(s) Els Isards
Coach(es) Jeannot Martinho
Captain(s) Jonathan Garcia
Team kit
Change kit
First international
Andorra Andorra 24 – 3 Luxembourg 
(1 July 1987)
Largest win
Andorra Andorra 76 – 3 Norway 
(4 September 2004)
Largest defeat
Andorra Andorra 3 – 62 Spain 
(8 November 1997)

The Andorra national rugby union team, nicknamed Els Isards (which is a Pyrenean Chamois) represent Andorra in international rugby union competitions. They are currently ranked 61st out of 100 Rugby playing nations by the International Rugby Board (IRB). They play most of their home games in Andorra la Vella, the country's capital, though have had some matches in Foix, which is in France.

They compete in the European Nations Cup, and are currently in the second division. As well as playing numerous friendlies they have also taken part in the qualification stages of the Rugby World Cup, competing in every tournament since 1995.

History

Andorra played their first rugby international in 1987 against Luxembourg. Andorra won the match 24–3.

Andorra first tried to qualify for the Rugby World Cup in 1995. They competed in the preliminary round in the west group of the European qualification. They defeated Denmark, but lost to Switzerland, and were knocked out.

Andorra also attempted to qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Andorra started off in Pool 3 of Round 1, and won all four of their fixtures, finishing at the top of the final standings to advance through to Round 2. However they were then knocked out of qualifying after Round 2 coming last in a five team group.

They competed in Pool B of Round 1 in attempting to qualify for the 2003 World Cup, but did not advance to the next stage coming third in a six team group.

The 2007 tournament saw many more fixtures and gained the small nation some greater publicity by playing in the first match of the tournament, beating Norway 76–3. They won a 2 leg match, came third in the ensuing five team group thus qualifying for a further 2 leg playoff, victory in which led to a further five team group in which they were last. Competing with the more populous Moldova, Netherlands, Spain and Poland, having beaten Norway, Hungary, Slovenia and Sweden certainly brought Andorra to the attention of more rugby followers, all in spite of a small population of just 70,000.

Popularity

The popularity of football in Andorra has been on the decline due to a poor record at home and away. This has left room for Andorran rugby to rise out of the shadows. Mainly affected by the fanatical popularity of rugby in southern France, Els Isards continue to impress on the international stage. This has led to the rapid increase in the number of registered players in Andorra. Many are now suggesting that rugby in Andorra has grown to such an extent that it has now become the tiny nation's national sport.

As well as a men's 15 aside team, the men have competed in the European Sevens competition since 2005. In 2005 they won promotion to the next division and in both 2006 and 2007 made the finals of the competition.

Also Andorra have a women's set up. They have only played sevens so far, competing in 2006 and 2007.

Youth rugby in Andorra is less developed and has to date only consisted of training camps.

Results Men's 15 aside

Analysis

Andorra have played friendlies, FIRA competitions and World Cup Qualifiers. The full results list including details of unplayed games can be found below. The various game types can be summarised as follows – note that unfulfilled and defaulted games are NOT included in the analysis although they do count towards the game count in the full list. Also if a game has been both a World Cup and FIRA game then it is only recorded here in the World Cup figures.

Match Type P W D L % F A D Notes
Friendly 6 2 0 4 33 41 65 −24
Regional 43 16 1 26 38 618 897 −279
World Cup 31 14 0 17 45 651 736 −85
All Games 80 32 1 47 41 1310 1698 −388

Matches against individual teams can be summarised as follows

Nation GP W D L % PF PA PD Notes
 Norway 2 2 0 0 100 99 12 87
 Austria 2 2 0 0 100 77 15 62
 Monaco 2 2 0 0 100 43 16 27
 Armenia 1 1 0 0 100 36 10 26
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1 0 0 100 23 13 10
 Israel 1 1 0 0 100 19 13 6
 Denmark 2 2 0 0 100 11 5 6
 Hungary 4 3 0 1 75 116 58 58 There is also one unfulfilled fixture
 Yugoslavia 4 3 0 1 75 56 43 13 There is also one unfulfilled fixture
 Luxembourg 7 4 1 2 64 124 66 58
 Slovenia 4 2 0 2 50 85 70 15
 Lithuania 2 1 0 1 50 64 50 14
 Malta 2 1 0 1 50 41 47 −6
 Sweden 4 2 0 2 50 67 79 −12 There is also one win by default
 Bulgaria 6 2 0 4 33 95 95 0
 Czech Republic 3 1 0 2 33 26 104 −78
 Croatia 4 1 0 3 25 41 62 −21
 Tunisia 4 1 0 3 25 48 80 −32
 Latvia 2 0 0 2 0 30 54 −24 There is also one unfulfilled fixture
 Moldova 1 0 0 1 0 16 23 −7 There is also one unfulfilled fixture and one defeat by default
 Serbia 1 0 0 1 0 7 32 −25
 Morocco 2 0 0 2 0 19 63 −44
 Germany 1 0 0 1 0 11 56 −45
  Switzerland 4 0 0 4 0 48 94 −46 There is also one win by default
 Portugal 3 0 0 3 0 32 115 −83
 Poland 5 0 0 5 0 43 154 −111
 Spain 3 0 0 3 0 17 129 −112
 Netherlands 3 0 0 3 0 16 140 −124
TOTALS 80 32 1 47 41 1310 1698 −388

Full Match List

Defaulted games (3), unfulfilled games (5) and non-Internationals (3) do not count towards the match tally.

Sequence Date Opponents F A Venue Type Notes
1 1 July 1987 Luxembourg (1) 24 3 A Luxembourg FIRA C First International for Andorra
2 8 July 1987 Luxembourg (2) 12 3 H Andorra La Vella Friendly First Home match
3 28 May 1988 Bulgaria (1) 6 30 A Sofia FIRA C First defeat
4 1 July 1988 Bulgaria (2) 7 21 H Andorra Friendly
5 8 April 1989 Tunisia (1) 7 19 H Andorra La Vella Friendly First game against an African team
6 23 April 1989 Luxembourg (3) 8 10 A Cessange FIRA C
7 28 May 1989 Bulgaria (3) 7 21 H Andorra La Vella FIRA C
8 1 July 1989 Luxembourg (4) 6 10 A Friendly
9 8 April 1990 Tunisia (2) 6 12 H Andorra La Vella Friendly 9th consecutive defeat
10 29 April 1990 Luxembourg (5) 26 6 H Andorra La Vella FIRA C
11 26 May 1990 Yugoslavia (1) 9 3 A Split FIRA C
12 9 March 1991 Morocco (1) 9 25 H Andorra La Vella FIRA C
13 23 March 1991 Portugal (1) 15 33 A Coimbra FIRA C
14 4 May 1991 Tunisia (3) 16 14 H Andorra La Vella FIRA C
15 9 November 1991 Tunisia (4) 19 35 A Tunis FIRA C First match in Africa
16 28 March 1992 Portugal (2) 6 29 H Andorra La Vella FIRA C
17 25 April 1992 Morocco (2) 10 38 A Casablanca FIRA C
18 1 October 1992 Denmark (1) 3 0 H Friendly Some sources list this as the WC game but it appears to be separate
19 27 October 1992 Denmark (2) 8 5 H Andorra La Vella WC 1995 First World Cup match
20 31 October 1992 Switzerland (1) 0 14 H Andorra La Vella WC 1995 First game without scoring
21 28 November 1992 Netherlands (1) 6 40 A Hertogenbosch FIRA B1
22 17 April 1993 Poland (1) 6 19 H Andorra La Vella FIRA B1
23 15 May 1993 Czech Republic (1) 6 3 H Andorra La Vella FIRA B1
24 11 September 1993 Sweden (1) 6 25 A Nassjo FIRA B1
25 6 November 1993 Poland (2) 10 30 A Sochaczew FIRA B1
26 26 March 1994 Netherlands (2) 10 49 H Andorra La Vella FIRA B1
27 12 April 1994 Czech Republic (2) 0 56 A Prague FIRA B1
Def 15 May 1994 Sweden w/o H Default FIRA B1 Won by default
Non Int 25 March 1995 Catalunya 6 66 A St Boi Friendly – non-International
28 22 April 1995 Croatia (1) 0 16 H Andorra La Vella FIRA B3
Def 7 May 1995 Switzerland w/o A Default FIRA B3 Won by default
29 13 May 1995 Luxembourg (6) 18 18 A Cessange FIRA B3 First draw
30 26 November 1995 Slovenia (1) 28 23 H Andorra La Vella FIRA B3
31 24 March 1996 Yugoslavia (2) 30 12 A Ursag FIRA B2
32 20 April 1996 Bulgaria (4) 13 8 H Andorra La Vella FIRA B2
33 19 October 1996 Lithuania (1) 54 24 H Andorra La Vella WC 1999 Pool 3 Round A
34 2 November 1996 Sweden (2) 21 20 H Andorra La Velle WC 1999 Pool 3 Round A
35 15 March 1997 Luxembourg (7) 30 16 A Cessange WC 1999 Pool 3 Round A
36 14 June 1997 Hungary (1) 34 5 A Budapest WC 1999 Pool 3 Round A, 7th consecutive win and 8th unbeaten
37 13 September 1997 Czech Republic (3) 20 45 A Tatra Smichov Stadium WC 1999 Pool 3 Round B
38 4 October 1997 Germany (1) 11 56 H Andorra La Velle WC 1999 Pool 3 Round B
39 8 November 1997 Spain (1) 3 62 H Andorra La Velle WC 1999 Pool 3 Round B, biggest defeat
40 30 May 1998 Portugal (3) 11 53 A Lousa WC 1999 Pool 3 Round B
41 26 September 1998 Switzerland (2) 14 15 H Andorra La Velle FIRA D
42 31 October 1998 Bulgaria (5) 3 5 A FIRA D
43 27 February 1999 Monaco (1) 29 6 H Andorra La Velle FIRA D
44 12 June 1999 Israel (1) 19 13 A FIRA D
45 30 October 1999 Slovenia (2) 3 16 A FIRA D1
46 5 February 2000 Monaco (2) 14 10 A FIRA D1
47 26 February 2000 Hungary (2) 32 10 H Andorra La Velle FIRA D1
48 13 May 2000 Austria (1) 21 12 H Andorra La Velle FIRA D1
49 14 October 2000 Yugoslavia (3) 12 9 H Andorra La Velle WC 2003 EURO Round A
50 28 October 2000 Hungary (3) 21 27 A Szazhalombatta WC 2003 EURO Round A
51 5 May 2001 Switzerland (3) 25 33 H Andorra La Velle WC 2003 EURO Round A
52 12 May 2001 Bulgaria (6) 59 10 H Andorra La Velle WC 2003 EURO Round A
53 26 May 2001 Bosnia Herzogovina (1) 23 13 H Andorra La Velle WC 2003 EURO Round A
54 13 October 2001 Austria (2) 56 3 H Andorra La Velle FIRA B Pool A
55 11 November 2001 Slovenia (3) 16 26 A Ljubljana FIRA B Pool A
Non Int 27 March 2002 Northwestern University (USA) 40 5 H Andorra La Velle Touring team
56 5 May 2002 Yugoslavia (4) 5 19 H Andorra La Velle FIRA B Pool A
Def 1 June 2002 Moldova w/o A Chisnau FIRA B Pool A – Lost by default
Unf 22 September 2002 Moldova Probably FIRA B, this game is shown as a fixture
Unf 26 October 2002 Hungary, 24 18 Százhalombatta Rugby Stadium Probably FIRA B, this game is shown as a fixture
Unf 3 November 2002 Yugoslavia Probably FIRA B, this game is shown as a fixture
Unf 2 March 2003 Latvia Probably FIRA B, this game is shown as a fixture
57 4 September 2004 Norway (1) 76 3 H Andorra La Velle WC 2007 Round 1 – first game of the tournament, biggest victory
58 18 September 2004 Norway (2) 23 9 A Bergen WC 2007 Round 1
59 23 October 2004 Hungary (4) 29 16 A Esztergom, Vasas Sportsfiled WC 2007 Round 2 Pool A
60 20 November 2004 Croatia (2) 7 18 A Stadium Metalac, Sisak WC 2007 Round 2 Pool A
61 12 February 2005 Spain (2) 14 36 H Andorra La Velle WC 2007 Round 2 Pool A
62 30 April 2005 Slovenia (4) 38 5 H Andorra La Velle WC 2007 Round 2 Pool A
63 28 May 2005 Sweden (3) 30 20 H Andorra La Velle WC 2007 Round 2 playoff
64 4 June 2005 Sweden (4) 10 14 A Vanersborg WC 2007 Round 2 playoff
65 29 October 2005 Poland (3) 14 18 A WC 2007 Round 3 Pool A
66 26 November 2005 Netherlands (3) 0 51 A Amsterdam WC 2007 Round 3 Pool A
67 11 March 2006 Spain (3) 0 31 H Andorra La Vella WC 2007 Round 3 Pool A
68 6 May 2006 Moldova (1) 16 23 H Andorra La Vella WC 2007 Round 3 Pool A
69 7 October 2006 Poland (4) 8 54 A ENC 2B
70 4 November 2006 Latvia (1) 21 34 H Andorra La Vella ENC 2B 7th consecutive defeat
71 7 April 2007 Croatia (3) 24 13 H Andorra La Vella ENC 2B
72 12 May 2007 Malta (1) 24 31 A Valletta ENC 2B
73 29 September 2007 Poland (5) 5 33 H Andorra La Vella ENC 2B
74 24 November 2007 Latvia (2) 9 20 A Riga ENC 2B
75 19 April 2008 Croatia (4) 10 15 A Split ENC 2B
76 17 May 2008 Malta (2) 17 16 H Andorra la Vella ENC 2B
77 8 November 2008 Lithuania (2) 10 26 H Andorra la Vella ENC 3A & WC 2011
78 6 December 2008 Serbia (1) 7 32 A Semderevo ENC 3A & WC 2011 A squad of only 18 went to this game
79 14 March 2009 Switzerland (4) 9 32 A Avusy, Geneva ENC 3A & WC 2011
80 21 March 2009 Armenia (1) 36 10 H Andorra la Vella ENC 3A & WC 2011
Unknown Lithuania (3) A ENC 3A & WC 2011
Unknown Armenia (2) A ENC 3A & WC 2011
Unknown Switzerland (5) H ENC 3A & WC 2011
Unknown Serbia (2) H ENC 3A & WC 2011

Current Squad

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province
Oscar Cabanes Hooker {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
David Martinez Hooker {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Alexandre Fernandez Prop {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Stefano Tosatti Prop {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Gala Gagnidze Prop {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} France UA Saverdun (Fed.3)
Edisher Jamrulidze Prop {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Joan Fite Lock {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
David Kirikashvili Lock {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Arnaud Olive Wing {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Peter Ambor Flanker {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} France Baby Nyn's (3e série)
Jeremy Berrier Flanker {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Pol Uriguen Flanker {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Toni Carmona Flanker {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Aurelien Casse Number 8 {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Marc Aransanz Number 8 {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Spain RC L'Hospitalet (DHB)
Jonathan Garcia Scrum-half {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Flavien Sayo Scrum-half {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} ??
Roger Fite Fly-half {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Julien Langeard Fly-half {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} France Servian Boujan (Honneur)
Eduard Vergara Fly-half {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Albert Canturri Centre {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Esteve Perez Centre {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Esteve Dolsa Wing {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Spain RC L'Hospitalet (DHB)
Marc Gispert Wing {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Benjamin Taurinya Wing {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} France Leucate XV (Fed.3)
Cristian Garcia Wing {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV
Marc Abello Fullback {{{age}}} {{{caps}}} Andorra VCP Andorra XV

Results Men's 7s

To date Andorra (men) have played in fourteen International Sevens Tournaments (WC Qualifier 1996 (1 round), WC Qualifier 2000 (1 round), FIRA-AER 2003 Qualifiers (1 round), FIRA-AER 2004 Qualifiers (2 rounds), FIRA-AER 2005 Qualifiers (2 rounds), FIRA-AER 2006 Qualifiers (2 rounds) and Finals, FIRA-AER 2007 Qualifiers (2 rounds) and Finals, FIRA-AER 2008 Qualifiers). In FIRA-AER, each year a number of tournaments take place across Europe and each nation takes part in two tournaments to decide on a final 12. In 2007 Andorra were joint 12th with Croatia but qualified on points difference. The FIRA-AER qualifiers have seen placings of 5th (5 times), 4th (1 time) and 3rd (2 times). Both appearances in the finals have seen 12th (last) but notable teams have failed to qualify.

Current Squad

The following 20-men squad was announced on 29 May 2008 for the WCQ tournaments.

Paul Alieu – David Kirikashvili – Toni Carmona – Peter Ambor – Gerard Soteras – Jonathan Garcia – Esteve Perez – Marc Abello – Renaud Calvel – Roger Fite – Marc Gispert – Josep Magallon – Sergi Lucas – Miquel Barbolla – Kim Jordan – Emmanuel Sarti – Benjami Taurinya – Flavien Sayo – Maxim Taurinya – Gerard Gimenez

Women's squad

Myriam García Ramón – Iolanda Gispert Sancho – Marilia Ferreira Gomes – Carla Ferreira Gomes – Sílvia Cuaresma – Sandra Guerrero Soria – Magali Paradelle – Tània Albino Ferreira – Mariona Vila Torrents – Anna Casals Casas – Beatriz Candela Callejero – Gisela Escolà i Marsal – Olga Arrú Solana – Juana Gutierrez Lopez – Judith Riba Mateu – Cèlia Ferreira Gomes – Carol Dañobeitia – Lorena Ledesma Torres – Sònia Llopis Carreras – Isabel Tejero Cano – Sílvia Arrú Solana

Youth Rugby

There are only limited records for Andorran youth rugby.

A training camp (with Spain and Portugal) took place in 2001/2002. A similar camp took place at Tarazones from 7 to 12 April 2006 with 23 players and 3 coaches attending. These are both for Under 17s.

A camp is planned for 14 to 19 March 2008 in Spain, with Spain and Portugal. This too is for under 17s.

Andorra took part in the 1996 Junior World Cup (winning group C) and also took part in the pre-classification stages in 2000.

Andorra currently have a "school of rugby" and over 100 individuals are currently signed up

Groupama Tournament

March 2009.

The 13 years group saw Andorra with 15 players, Pamiers with 20 and Couserans with 30.

The final standings were Couseran I (26pts), Andorra (12pts), Pamiers (9pts), Couseran II (3pts)

The 15years group saw Andorra with 15 players, Pamiers with 16 and Couserans with 26.

The final standings were Couseran I (25pts), Pamiers (11pts), Andorra (7pts), Couseran II (2pts)

Veterans

Andorra is currently locating veterans – they must be Andorran, over 35 and not playing currently. If there are enough then they will look to participate in relevant competitions

Off Field

Not counting youth training camps (which are mentioned in that section) and hosting tournaments, Andorra also endeavours to be involved in non-playing activities.

1993 Hosts 52nd FIRA conference

20 to 22 January 2009 Two delegates sent to IRB/FIRA-AER Educator Course at Rome


Sources

External links

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