Spain flanker Super Mario’s hat-trick tears up fourth tier

By BEN JAYCOCK
Rather than scoring a hat-trick in Loughborough Students’ big win last weekend, Mario Pichardie should have been turning out for Spain at the Rugby World Cup. 
The 21-year-old flanker helped guide Los Leones to qualification for the showpiece tournament, only for World Rugby to find Spain had illegally fielded South African born player, Gavin van den Berg, during qualification.
Spain’s dramatic victory over Portugal in March 2022 was eradicated and Pichardie’s side were dumped out of the tournament, paving the way for Romania to qualify and Portugal to advance through last Nove...

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