One of the most important unknowns in Spanish rugby has begun to clear up this Saturday. The Federation has announced the name of Pablo Bouza as “candidate for selector” of the XV of the Lion and has acknowledged that there are “very advanced conversations” with him.
The use of these formulas when communicating the very probable contracting of the Argentine coach is due to the fact that right now he is Uruguay assistant coach and with that team he is preparing the World Cup that starts in France in September. It will be, therefore, after that appointment when Bouza -except for a major surprise- will officially become the Spanish coach.
The Federation has released the curriculum of the chosen one to try to lead the Spanish men’s team to the 2027 World Cup. Before being assistant coach of Uruguay, a country whose national team has a similar level to Spain, Bouza played the same role in the Argentine team during the 2015 World Cup, in which The Cougars They reached fourth place. He has also directed the Peñarol Rugby franchise, with which he won the American Super League in 2023 and is consultant of High Performance South America Rugby.
Precisely due to this last function, Pablo Bouza visited Spain a few weeks ago, where High Performance centers have begun to be set up -for the moment in Madrid and Valencia- to enrich the training of youth players and make it easier for them to progressively feed the absolute selections.
Bouza was accompanied on that visit by Daniel Hourcade, International Federation (World Rugby) High Performance manager for South America, Spain and Portugal. This is a key position for the arrival of funds that promote development from the base. The more than probable hiring of Bouza would thus fit into the improvement of relations between the Spanish Federation and the International based on the growth potential that is intuited in our country.