Ronda in Southern Spain

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Rondy Tortugas Rugby beat Yatton RC 46-10

Ronda Tortugas Rugby Club take on Yatton RC from England in a friendly invitational. Ronda won 46-10. Very motivational game for a young team.

Rugby in Ronda

Rugby in Ronda

Ronda Tortugas Rugby Club are a new addition to the sporting fraternity in Ronda, and what a start they’re making. This weekend they took on an invitational side from Yatton RC, a league club in England, and what a game it was. At full time the score stood 46-10 to the Tortugas, a fantastic effort for a young 3rd division team.

If you aren’t aware, Tortugas is the Spanish word for turtles, but in this game I’m happy to say Ronda’s forwards outpaced the visitors every time, most tries were a very comfortable run along the sideline and then straight under the posts in good position for the conversion kick.

Sadly Ronda’s conversion kicking lets the team down, and in tight matches plays a huge role in reasons they lose. Last weekend the Tortugas played Cádiz, losing 30-20, but missing three conversions and a penalty kick which would have seen them finish 30-29.

However for a young side the boys are coming along nicely. Defensive play is excellent, offensive play is adequate and improving. Issues you see in a team this young are scrums and line outs where control of the ball is more often lost than maintained. We shouldn’t be too critical though, rugby isn’t a popular sport in Spain.

In the last year we’ve started to see more rugby on Spanish TV, and this gives players an opportunity to watch top international sides battle it out. I’m sure in time the Ronda rugby club will be able to field some impressive local players who’ll be the equal of any foreign player. And speaking of foreigners, I’m proud to say the Ronda rugby club only has three British players out of a total squad of around 20.

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  1. Thanks for the game and hospitality, all those concerned had a great weekend and arrived home safely. Just one thing to say about the match Average age of Yatton Veterans,… 47.7, average age of Tortugas,… 19.6…..

    Great atmosphere in the Tortugas side, keep it going lads. Hope to see you in the UK for a return fixture at some point.

    Good luck for the future

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Ronda

Ronda is one of Spain's most visited cities for good reason, our little city is very compact, in fact from arriving in Ronda, to seeing the Real Maestranza bullring, the Puente Nuevo, the many beautiful churches, our museums, or the wonderful coffee shops and tapas bars, we have it all within a short 30 minute walk.

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A small city perched on a seemingly precarious platform of rock, Ronda is in fact an impregnable fortress only defeated in battle through trickery, and during the reconquest with modern (for the era) rock blasting cannon.

The mountains and valleys of the Serranía de Ronda are home to a tough breed of people, yet in Ronda these people are refined, some are gentry, some gypsies, others are just common folk, but all proudly call themselves Rondeños.

These days the population of Ronda is a little over 35,000 souls; big enough to offer all the essential services, but not big enough to suffer traffic problems or big city woes.

Rondeños have played a pivotal role in shaping Andalucía and modern Spain, and the city has hosted some of the great names of politics, the arts, education, and played her role in military events.

An hour from the Costa del Sol, Ronda is too far away to be heavily influenced by events on the coast, yet still close enough to benefit from the economic strength that tourism brings to Southern Spain. At a height of 723m, Ronda has a cooler year round temperature than the coast, making life in Ronda altogether more agreeable than other Andalucían cities.

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Ronda is the biggest city in northern Malaga province, and the closest city to many of the smaller villages in Cadiz province, making Ronda an ideal base for exploring the Serrania.

Within a few kilometres of Ronda are some of the most visited Pueblos Blancos, the famous white villages of Andalucia, Setenil de las Bodegas, Grazalema, Gaucín, Juzcar, Benalauria, Montejaque, Teba, Cortes de la Frontera, Igualeja, the list goes on...

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