Fernando Díez Molina (born 23 September 1974, in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

) is a Spanish former rugby union player. He played as a centre. Currently, as from 2024, he coaches the

CR Liceo Francés Club de Rugby Liceo Francés is a Spanish rugby union club. The club was established in 1968 and currently competes in the División de Honor B competition, the second level of Spanish rugby. The club are based in Madrid, Spain. Liceo play in whit ...

Career

His first international cap was during a match against Czech Republic, at Santander, on 30 November 1997. He was part of the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

roster, where he was the only player of Liceo Francés. In the tournament he played just one match. His last international cap was during a match against Portugal, at Coimbra, on 23 March 2003.

Coaching career

In 2012 he was appointed as coach of the

Spain national rugby sevens team Spain's national rugby sevens team is one of 15 core teams participating in all ten tournaments of the World Rugby Sevens Series, having qualified by winning the 2017 Hong Kong Sevens qualifier tournament. Spain participated as a core team in th ...

. In 2013 he signed as coach of

until 2016. Afterwards he arrived at

Alcobendas Rugby Club Deportivo Básico Alcobendas Rugby is a Spanish rugby team based in Alcobendas, Spain. History The club was established in 2003 by local fans from Alcobendas, and played its first ever season in División de Honor that year, occupying the pla ...

until 2022, when Spain was disqualified from the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...

in France due to the improper alienation of a player. Fernando and "

Tiki In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden ...

" were accused as accomplices since they knew that the player was not eligible to play for Spain. Fernando was suspended for five years from coaching any team. In 2024 he confirms his return as coach of the

first team.

References

External links

* 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Madrid Spanish rugby union coaches Spanish rugby union players Rugby union centres Spain international rugby union players Rugby union players from the Community of Madrid 1999 Rugby World Cup players {{Spain-rugbyunion-bio-stub