[citation needed] The earliest recorded game in Spain was in 1901, when an Englishman, Stuart Nicholson, resident in Bilbao, However, rugby lay largely dormant in the country until after the end of World War I, when rugby was reintroduced into Spain from the south of France, particularly Provence and the French Basque Country.

In 1921, Baudilio Aleu Torres, a Catalan, who had been studying veterinary medicine in Toulouse, returned to his native Barcelona, and founded the Santboiana Club there.

[3] Santboiana's pitch was cleared by the players themselves, and according to Huw Richards, "a tree was tolerated and used as a coat hanger, until it was uprooted after a few games."

[3] A Spanish XV played France, including Yves du Manoir, in 1927, but it was organised by a rebel governing body, and so is not usually recognised as a proper international game.

In more recent times, thanks to the influx of expatriates, a fifth "region" has opened up along the beach resorts on the Mediterranean coast, the Canary Islands and Balearics.

In recent years, Estadio Anoeta in the Basque Country has also been used for occasional Heineken Cup rugby union fixtures by nearby French-Basque club Biarritz Olympique (BO).

[needs update] Spain continues to be popular with touring sides from Britain, Ireland and France, due to its climate and good transport links.

Rugby union gets low media coverage, however, compared to more popular team sports such as association football and basketball.

There are pockets where rugby is particularly popular, such as the city of Valladolid in the Castile and León region, Sant Boi de Llobregat in Catalonia and Ordizia in the Basque country.

The rugby club Biarritz Olympique, who come from the French Basque Country have played Heineken Cup matches at the 32,000-seat Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastián, Spain and attracted sell-out crowds.

On 4 November 2014, France's professional rugby union league announced that the 2015–16 Top 14 final would be held at the Camp Nou in Barcelona on 24 June 2016.

[14] King Felipe VI of Spain and prominent politicians like Spanish Socialist Workers' Party leader Pedro Sánchez and vice president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría attended the match.

The Spanish league teams compete in a domestic cup competition each year, called the Copa del Rey.

In South America, a combination of Spanish and English position names is used, because rugby was introduced there directly from England after these countries became independent from Spain.