Spain honours rugby men
Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:55
Three Spanish rugby men have been honoured by the state for their services to the game - José María Epalza, José Antonio Sancha and Alfonso Mandado.
In a ceremony in Madrid, the three were presented with decorations, silver class, of the Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo (Royal Order of Sporting Merit) by the Minster of Education and Sport, Mercedes Cabrera, and the Secretary of State for Sport, Jaime Lissavetzky.
Epalza played for Spain, captained Spain, coached Spain and then became a successful rugby administrator, doing so much to make Spain one of the ,most efficient rugby unions in the world. He was also a member of FIRA-AER, became its vice-president and represented the body which runs European rugby on the International Rugby Board's executive committee.
In 2007 he was presented with the Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Services at the Board's annual prize-giving at the end of the World Cup.
Sancha, who also played for Spain, is the deputy president of the Spanish Rugby Federation and the "godfather" of women's rugby in Spain which, 1999 World Cup apart, had reached greater heights than the men's game.
Mandado is the present president of the Spanish Rugby Federation. He had played and coached the game and managed the national team, including at the World Cup in 1999. He became president in 2001 and was re-elected in 2004.
The three received their awards along with several of Spain's sporting luminaries - cyclist Oscar Pereiro, athlete Mayte Martínez, soccer coach Juan Santisteban and the basketball coach Aíto García Reneses, and administrators of sports such as hockey, tennis and cycling.
