Springboks to face Spain at 2023 Rugby World Cup

Los Leones booked their spot in the global showpiece with a 33-28 win over Portugal in Madrid on Sunday.

They will feature in Pool B alongside the Springboks, Ireland, Scotland and a yet-to-be-determined qualifier from Asia/Pacific.

Spain's victory at Estadio Nacional Universidad ensured that they will finish second in the combined Rugby Europe Championship 2021 and 2022 standings no matter the result of their final match against Georgia.

It caps a stunning turnaround for the Spanish, who began their RWC 2023 qualification campaign with three successive defeats at the start of last season's Rugby Europe Championship.

Santiago Santos' charges have since won six Championship matches in a row to set up both a title decider against Georgia in Tbilisi next weekend and take their place as the Europe 2 qualifier at RWC 2023.

It will be the first time Spain contest the Rugby World Cup since 1999, when they were also drawn alongside South Africa and Scotland, as well as Uruguay, in Pool A.

They lost all of their matches back then, including a 47-3 loss to the Springboks on 10 October 1999. On that day, the Boks were captained by Andre Vos, who scored two of his side's tries.

Anton Leonard, Werner Swanepoel, Pieter Muller and Bob Skinstad also crossed the whitewash, while Jannie de Beer converted six of the tries, while the Boks were also awarded a penalty try.

It will be 1??9??9??9?? all over again as @ferugby have qualified for the @rugbyworldcup and will join the Boks in Pool B in @France2023 - more here: https://t.co/56MiFuCOq3 pic.twitter.com/dCDpUSZA0t

"It's been a long journey and a very tough qualification process," Spain head coach Santiago Santos said in a statement.

"We lost our first three games and after that, we have won