Pozuelo Rugby Club is a bit out of the way in Madrid. Even from Casa de Campo without a car it’s a metro , then running for the light metro (only every half an hour) before a barren walk to the stadium. It turns out though that Pozuelo Rugby Club’s President Javier Balmaseda took a much wilder journey.
“I was in a Communist Party in Franco’s time (Javier later admitting that the presence of a pretty girl may have influenced his political beliefs) and my parents said what can we do with this guy here? Where can we send him ?” France, Germany or somewhere close at hand? Not exactly “So they sent me to South Africa and in that time I start to play rugby” Javier explains in the South African accent that had me tricked when I first met him into thinking he was another of Pozuelo’s ‘expat’ community.
Studying African History to a life now of “manufacturing frying pans”, Javier stands out even in Spanish Rugby’s eclectic characters as a shining example of the winding routes many take to Rugby in Spain. Javier still has plenty of fond memories of his adopted country and playing for Wanderers Rugby Club of Johannesburg, before returning to Spain after having children “For me it was an incredible country that gave me a lot of opportunites, not just to play rugby . I was a singer in the Opera in Pretoria, I was a tour guide (thanks to his multiple languages). After, my kids studied in Cape Town in Bishops but I´m a 100% Spanish. ” With these experiences it may seem strange he ended up coming back but the pull for Javier never left.
Post Franco Spain to CRC Pozuelo Rugby
“Ten years after Franco died it was an incredible country because it forced you to do a lot of things as we were 20 years behind the rest of Europe and I suppose everyone was trying to look for his way. I’m nothing special” Javier laughs, noticing the look on my face.
So it was back to Spain and Pozuelo where a predictably path of coaching juniors to being dragged into being President. “No one else wants to do it” Javier informs me and the tercer tiempo of the ex presidents and current board members were happy to testify to this later.
So onto the field, Pozuelo have a clear focus on bringing through young players and being a part time club, with lads training four times a week. However, they are up against it in a 10 team league where increasingly the majority (including their opponents on the day of the interview Burgos) are full time. Javier admits that balance, living within their means and bringing young lads through but being competitive enough to attract sponsors, is “probably the toughest challenge.”
“You know Pozuelo is one of the affluent areas of Spain and we are hoping that parents whose kids are playing in teams are at least open to speaking to companies about sponsors but as you saw today we only have around 200 to 300 people”. This is a problem caused mainly by the lack of a covered stand (despite fantastic training facilities) but this player first approach was a clear path, one that Javier feels is the best long term bet.
“It (Rugby World Cup) will take Spain to another level” – Javier Balmasera
“We´ve told the council that we would rather they spend more money on facilites for players . For example, next year we are going to have a new study facility for U16 and U18 because parents have to drop kids here by car and we need a place for them to study. This is where we say to invest.”
Despite Pozuelo being in an affluent area their budget for the whole club (With 400 players going from junior through to first team) is less than 400,000€ . Pozuelo fell to a third defeat against El Salvador of Valladolid in Round 3 as the financial challenge of competing begins to bite. As people like Javier have been digging into their pockets to keep this going, is he hopeful that Spain’s Rugby World Cup appearance and potential hosting in 2035 can have a positive on the sport to attract new people and let people like him finally step back?
“It will take Rugby in Spain to another level. Not only in terms of how players, but in terms of sponsors. Rugby is a number one sport in many countries or number two. It will be amazing and I think Spain is a great place for Rugby.”
División de Honor Round Up- VRAC stay unbeaten
With Round 3 done, VRAC held on for a narrow victory against now bitter rivals Burgos to become the only undefeated team left in the comp. Meanwhile, the aforementioned CRC Pozuelo Rugby Club lost to remain the only winless team but a shock loss for Alcobendas versus Ordizia means an incredibly congested league.
𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗖𝗜𝗢́𝗡 Jornada 3️⃣ #DHRugby #LoQueNosUne https://t.co/Lf0w4A3DJp
— División de Honor de Rugby (@DHFerugby) October 11, 2026
Featured Image of Pozuelo vs El Salvador used with permission of El Salvador Rugby Club.
Our interview with Burgos Assistant Coach and the recent Premios Cisne is available below.
