Barcelona does not instantly conjure up images of Rugby. In a football mad city the sporting names that roll off the tongue are those connected to the round ball game.

Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Ronaldinho, the list of greats is endless, a team that ruled Europe and despite its Catalan quest for independence helped Spain rule the football world a few years back.

Famous Spanish actor Javier Bardem once said “Playing rugby in Spain is like being a bullfighter in Japan.” even so there is a growing interest in the sport in this part of the world.

Futbol Club Barcelona Rugby currently play in División de Honor, the premier level of Spanish rugby union. The club plays home games at the Ciutat Esportiva Municipal Vall d’Hebrón-Teixonera.

The La Vall d’Hebron Area was an area designated for urban planning 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Situated in the northern part of Barcelona at the foot of the Serra de Collserola mountain range, it was restructured for the 1992 Olympics to become a large recreational area. Cycling, tennis, archery and volleyball completions were held there along with the demonstration sport of Basque pelota.

The club was formed on September 21, 1924 and has had a long and successful history, having won 19 national titles and 19 regional competitions.

Before the Spanish Civil War, the club won the championship of Spain on three occasions and the championship of Catalonia seven times. During the 1940s and 1950s FCB was one of the strongest rugby clubs in Spain, winning a further 10 Spanish championships.

This season Barça Rugbi were eliminated in the quarter final División de Honor, play-offs losing away to Santboiana beaten by a last minute try (38-31). The result ended a great season for the Catalans,achieving a fifth place finish winning seven of their twelve league matches.

The match at Baldiri Aleu saw Santbioana lead 24-17 at half time with a Barcelona try in the first move of the second half bringing the scores level at 24-24. With the match all square at 31-31 and only seconds remaining Oriol Pujol’s try secured victory for the home side.

One of Barcelona’s most notable players was Andriy Kovalenco born in Kyiv in Ukraine. He played for three National Teams, the Soviet Union, Ukraine then after becoming a Spanish citizen, for Spain.

Gaining 37 caps he became one of the highest scoring players for Spain during his international career, from 1998 to 2006, with 2 tries, 11 conversions, 49 penalties and 1 drop goal, for an aggregate of 220 points.

Kovalenco played in two matches at the 1999 Rugby World Cup scoring all of Spain’s points in the 27-15 defeat to Uruguay, landing five penalties.

Football will always be the lifeblood of Barcelona but there is a little corner of this beautiful city where the oval ball game is doing very nicely thank you.