'Bigger and stronger': European rugby nations form IV Nations Alliance in bid for growth

Georgia, Spain, Romania, and Portugal have signed a memorandum of understanding and established the IV Nations Alliance, an initiative focused on shared sustainable growth and a more ambitious future.

Georgia’s David Kacharava, Romania’s Alin Petrache, Spain’s Juan Carlos Martín Sánchez, and Portugal’s Carlos Amado da Silva met in Tbilisi on September 29 to commit to a joint agreement to transform rugby in these countries, starting with the commercial, high-performance, and competitive sectors.

The alliance will promote close collaboration through information and best-practice exchanges, joint training and coaching programmes, and a range of shared initiatives, fostering a truly cooperative approach to rugby development.

However, the new alliance’s plan also includes proposing competitive changes to international calendars that could enable development beyond what has been experienced so far.

Georgia, Portugal, Spain, and Romania have dominated most of Rugby Europe’s internal competitions, with Spain currently involved in all major global men’s and women’s competitions, in both 15s and 7s. Despite the latest developments at the international level, the nations of the IV Alliance agreed that more can be done at every level and will work to find new ways forward.

Former Lelos centre and now president of the Georgian Rugby Union expressed his delight at the four rivals coming together to form a joint union.

“We have now a bigger and stronger voice to keep on progressing.”

For Spain’s Juan Carlos Martín Sánchez, enhanced collaboration and shared growth are among the alliance’s most important opportunities, paving the way for a stronger future for the four participating nations.

“We are very happy to have reached an agreement that will facilitate the transformation process we are embarked on.”

The IV Alliance will operate under the guidance of World Rugby and Rugby Europe, working closely with both organisations to enhance the quality of rugby and drive participation across the four nations. The partnership comes at a historic moment, with Georgia, Romania, Spain, and Portugal set to compete in the Men’s Rugby World Cup at the same time for the first time.