Springboks set to face Romania at RWC 2023 after Spain booted out of tournament

Spain has been thrown out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup for fielding an ineligible player and will be replaced by Romania, governing body World Rugby announced on Thursday.

Spain were drawn in the same pool as South Africa, along with Ireland, Scotland and another as yet confirmed qualifier from the Asia/Pacific 1 region.

"Subject to Spain's right of appeal, the 10-point deduction applied to the Rugby World Cup 2023 qualification table means that Romania will qualify as Europe 2 into Pool B, replacing Spain," read the statement.

The decision against Spain comes after they were found to have breached player eligibility rules.

According to Spanish media in March, the player under investigation was South African-born prop Gavin van den Berg, who has played in the country since 2018.

He played twice against the Netherlands, in 2020 and 2021, in qualifiers, but he may not seemingly have served the three years of residency needed to become eligible under World Rugby rules.

Spain, Romania and Belgium were all sanctioned in 2018 for having fielded ineligible players, opening the way for Russia to qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

More to follow...