Sevens stars Manteca and Trevithick make their mark as Spain's 15s crossover plan bears fruit

Jaime Manteca and Jeremy Trevithick, two of the standout performers in Spain’s SVNS Championship Series campaign, have made the leap to 15s rugby this month — and coach Pablo Bouza’s deliberate strategy of mining the Sevens circuit for talent is already paying dividends.

Manteca came off the bench in Spain’s 42-point draw against Canada before earning a starting berth against Tonga, where he made more than 50 running metres, broke the line twice and beat six tacklers as Los Leones claimed their first win of the campaign. Trevithick, 24, who was named to the SVNS Team of the Year after Spain finished third in the Championship Series, made a 10-minute cameo in the same victory over the ‘Ikale Tahi and has since been included in Spain’s 31-man squad for the inaugural Nations Cup in North America.

Both players acknowledge the transition was far from seamless. “The jump from one setup to the other was quite hard, as they are completely different codes in my opinion,” Manteca said. “In my first sessions, I felt a bit lost on the pitch, but over time I adjusted to it and the system. I am getting progressively more comfortable with it, thanks to the staff and my teammates.”

Trevithick echoed the sentiment. “I didn’t know what to expect. It was a mix of nerves and desire, as I wanted to really get into it, but I had several doubts about how it would pan out. The team embraced me from the very beginning, which sped up my adaptation to the system and the way we play.”

Yet Manteca also argues that the Sevens environment provides a genuine competitive edge. “To play in the SVNS World Series, where you face the best teams in the sport, you need to be at the top of your game — be it physical form, skills, or the ability to win a one-v-one situation. This allowed the others and me to be readier for the 15s challenge.”

The pair are not trailblazers in isolation. Spain has a well-established tradition of crossover players, with Alejandro Laforga, Jerry Surumi, Iñaki Mateu and Alex Alonso all having moved between the codes before them. What Manteca and Trevithick represent, however, is the latest evidence that Bouza’s coaching staff are actively treating the Sevens programme as a talent pipeline rather than a parallel track.

“Spanish rugby is growing and getting better by the day,” Manteca said. “With every new year, new, well-prepared and more talented players step into the fray.” With the Nations Cup on the horizon, the experiment is set to face its most demanding test yet.