Among a list of 32 players — many forged in traditional rugby strongholds like Valladolid, Ordizia or Sant Boi — one name resonated differently: Aaron Rus Biot, the first Mallorcan ever called up to Spain’s senior national rugby team.
His inclusion in Pablo Bouza’s squad to face England in Valladolid is more than a personal milestone. It signals a shift on an island where rugby has long been a niche sport, quietly growing in the background.
Spanish rugby is enjoying a surge of momentum. After defeating Switzerland 13–43, Los Leones secured their place at the 2027 Rugby World Cup — only the second time Spain has qualified — and rose to 14th in the world rankings. Numbers aside, each step forward is creating new stories. Among them, the story of a boy who grew up on the grass of Rugby Club Ponent and who now represents the Balearic Islands at the highest level.
“For me, being the first player from the island to reach the senior national team is a real honour,” says Aaron. He speaks calmly, without hype. His voice contains gratitude rather than triumphalism, as if he understands that success is built slowly, in silence. “I feel privileged. I’ve been in high-performance sport since I was fourteen — years of work and daily effort so that this moment could arrive.”
From Valencia to Mallorca
Born in Valencia on 1 March 2001, Aaron moved to Mallorca at thirteen. “I started playing rugby at Rugby Club Valencia because my brother Ricardo already played. When we arrived in Mallorca, my parents said there were several teams on the island, and without hesitating I chose Rugby Club Ponent. There I found an amazing group of people — friends I still have today.”
That choice shaped everything. At Ponent he grew up with a talented generation that became Spain B champions at under-16 and under-18 level. With the Balearic regional team, he gathered titles and experience that hinted at bigger things.
At 21 he joined Alcobendas Rugby, establishing himself as a scrum-half — though he can also play centre, fly-half or full-back. At 1.89m, he is tall, but his true stature is measured in something else: persistence, discipline and steady progress.
Rugby Club Ponent: a home built from hard work
Rugby in the Balearics has grown steadily since the first clubs appeared in the 1990s. What began with pioneers like Toro Rugby Club is now a small but active network across Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca — a community that no longer just survives, but competes.
Ponent was founded in September 2000 in the bar “1916” near Palma’s Plaça Espanya. From that small meeting came a name — honouring the island’s Ponent region — and a colour: green, symbol of growth and hope. In those early years rugby in Mallorca barely survived, but a handful of enthusiasts kept the club alive.
Two decades later, Ponent is the island’s leading rugby institution, with more than 250 players and a youth academy that has introduced over 5,000 young people to the sport. Key coaches, such as New Zealander Séan Judkins, helped professionalise the setup. But for Aaron, Ponent was never just a club — it was a family, a community where rugby was taught not only with the hands but with conviction.
Life beyond the pitch
Off the field, Aaron trained as a Higher Technician in Marketing and Advertising, specialising in community management and digital marketing. Between shifts at Sushi Go and customer service at Mercadona, he learned what many athletes discover: that life, like rugby, is shaped by routines, studies and the quiet discipline of showing up.
His years at CTEIB (Centre de Tecnificació Esportiva de les Illes Balears) were decisive. “It was there that I built the foundations of the player I am today,” he recalls. At CTEIB he met Zahía Pérez, one of Spain’s brightest female rugby talents. Their friendship reflects a new generation who grew up believing rugby could have a Balearic accent.
The pioneers: the path that made Aaron possible
Before him came others. Rosa Calafat, from Menorca, was captain of Spain and a European champion in 1995. Merche Batidor, from Mallorca, earned 47 caps and became a legend of the women’s game. And now Zahía Pérez, born in Palma in 2004, will play her first World Cup with Las Leonas at just 21. The three opened doors that once seemed closed. Zahía was the first girl to enter CTEIB and debuted for the senior national team at seventeen.
Together, their journeys form the backbone of Balearic rugby’s rise from the margins to the national stage.
A sport with a long memory — and a new chapter
Spanish rugby remains a minority sport: a community built on mud, sacrifice and friendship. Mallorca is now firmly part of that story.
And Aaron Rus, who once swapped football for the oval ball, has shown that it’s not where you start but what you build that counts. Sometimes the real journey is simply getting the chance to prove yourself.
