From Segovia to the Italian Alps, from the heat of the sand to the extreme cold of the snow. That has been the recent journey of Celtíberos vacceos, a Rugby 5 team with strong Segovian roots that has participated in an international snow rugby tournament held on January 10 and 11 in Tarvisio, in the north of Italy, played at temperatures of up to fifteen degrees below zero, which brought together teams from different European countries and in which the Segovian team was the only Spanish representative.
The experience had little to do with any conventional competition. Playing rugby on a fully snowy field forces you to adapt gestures, rhythms and even basic routines such as warming up. «The most complicated thing was not so much the cold as playing with wet feet; Two steps were enough for the snow on the shoes to turn into water,” explains Mariano Martín Fernández, promoter of the project, coach and also a player on the team. Even so, physical effort ends up taking over: “although the cold is extreme, the body warms up quickly, the problem is when you stop.”
The tournament took place over two days and had the participation of 24 teams from countries such as Italy, Slovenia, France, Austria and even Iran. Celtíberos Vacceos came without great expectations, aware that Spanish rugby is still in the progress phase in the European context. However, the team overcame matches until reaching the semifinals. There they fell by a single point against a Slovenian team with extensive experience in this modality. the men’s team achieved third place, while the women’s team finished in fourth position.
Beyond the result, adaptation to the environment was one of the great challenges. Unlike beach rugby,where it is played barefoot,the snow requires the use of boots with studs and gloves to combat the cold. “The dynamics are different: the snow slows you down, your foot gets stuck, but at the same time it drives you and makes the game more explosive,” says Martín. The ball also freezes,which adds difficulty to handling.Even the warm-up changes completely: “We tried to make it as short as possible because warming up too much is almost worse; you stop and freeze.”
Celtíberos Vacceos was born six years ago as a project to bring together players from Segovia or of Segovian origin who had passed through different clubs, many of them linked to RAC Lobos. The initial idea was to compete in rugby sevens, but after the pandemic the first tournament they found was beach rugby. That unexpected test set the team’s course: they came second and began to specialize in this modality. As then, they have been Spanish beach rugby champions for three consecutive years, both in the men’s and women’s categories, and have represented Spain in European competitions.
This year, the invitation to the snow tournament was another step in that evolution. “We didn’t even know that Rugby 5 on snow existed,” admits the coach. Eight of the twelve players on the men’s team are of Segovian origin, a local base that is complemented by players from other parts of Spain and abroad, especially from Madrid, where Martín carries out his professional activity.
The experience at Tarvisio has opened a new door for the team. “We realized that we could also compete in the snow,” Martín summarizes; a finding that broadens the horizon of a project born in Segovia.
date: 2026-01-15 05:05:00