Marbella rugby on the rise.
Admitted, rugby is not a sport immediately associated with Marbella – in fact, it comes after sports such as golf, tennis, paddle tennis, water sports, mountaineering and football in these parts, but that is not to say it isn’t thriving. The Marbella Rugby Club is on a high with a growing number of players, teams, followers and lively atmosphere at its ambient facilities in Río Real, just east of Marbella town. Here you will find highly motivated players, coaches, support personnel and of course wildly enthusiastic family and friends attending. The first team of the Trocadero Marbella Rugby Club, as it is officially called, plays in the Spanish second division, but it is the influx of young players that is especially swelling the team and pointing to a promising future for the club and rugby in Marbella. Already some players have gone on to a promising career, and it seems this number will grow. They come from Marbella’s cosmopolitan population, with Spanish, European and South American players most prominent, and reflect the rising tide of the game in the country, where the number of registered players is 50,000 and rising. The Spanish league is also on the up, with 26,500 people watching the cup final in Valladolid last season, and Spain rising through the ranks in Europe’s second tier behind the famous Six Nations competition. Who knows, maybe one day Spain could even help expand the Six Nations further, but for now one of the big highlights is the fact that Alhambra Nievas, a young Granada-born telecommunications engineer now living in Málaga, has been named the Best Referee in the World at the World Rugby Awards 2016. It is all the more remarkable since she is both Spanish and a woman, enabling the former Málaga University and Spain player to set not one but two new records. She is a lady of firsts, as she not only referees matches in international women’s rugby but became the first woman to lead a male international – the match between the US and Tonga. It’s a rare honour indeed, and an encouragement for women in rugby and the game in Spain all at the same time, proving that this is a country on the rise in the sport. This is especially true of Marbella rugby, which has excellent playing conditions, great team spirit and a lively social atmosphere where Spanish, British and other expat communities come together in a lovely Río Real setting. If you would like to know more about rugby in Marbella, contact the Trocadero Marbella Rugby Club, and if you would like to know more about the best new properties in Marbella, please get in touch with us at Altavista Property. We’re a company with roots in the area and form part of our community so we can inform you about the best areas to suit your lifestyle as well as show you the finest modern properties in Marbella.
