Manu Moreno
| Full name | Manuel Moreno | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 2 September 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb; 13 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=icon}
Manuel Moreno (born 2 September 1998) is a Spanish rugby sevens player who plays for the Spanish national rugby sevens team.[1]
Early life
He was brought up in Seville, and played numerous sports as a youngster including tennis, karate and football. He tried rugby union after his older brother Gabi played rugby for Ciencias and had earned a High Performance scholarship after finishing second with his team in the Spanish Championship.[2][3]
Career
He began playing rugby union for Ciencias Sevilla CR in Seville. He was subsequently called-up to join the Spain national rugby sevens team in the summer of 2020.[2]
He scored the opening try as Spain beat New Zealand at the South Africa Sevens in Cape Town in December 2022.[4] In May 2023, Moreno was chosen among the 14 best rugby sevens players at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Toulouse.[5] He played for Spain at the 2023 European Games.[6]
In May 2025, he was in the Dream Team of the Year for the 2024-25 SVNS.[7] He continued with the Spanish Sevens team and was a try scorer in Spain‘a victory over New Zealand Sevens at the 2026 Canada Sevens, during the 2025-26 SVNS series, also scoring a try in the semi-final against Fiji as Spain finished runner-up to South Africa in the tournament.[8][9] He was also a try scorer against Australia as Spain reached the semi-finals at the 2026 Hong Kong Sevens.[10]
In July 2026, Moreno was one of the first players announced for the Ultimate Sevens Championship, prior to the inaugural competition launch later that year.[11][12]
Personal life
He studied medicine alongside his rugby career. He is a keen football fan and a supporter of Real Betis.[2][3] He has also been employed as a model.[13][14]
References
- ↑ "Manuel Moreno". Its Rugby. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Manu Moreno, the future Sevillian doctor who will play for Spain at the Cartuja stadium". ABC Newspaper. January 28, 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- 1 2 Bakero, Lorea (29 March 2025). "Manu Moreno, from medical student to rugby 7s star". Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ↑ "All Blacks Sevens suffer embarrassing loss to Spain, no issues for Black Ferns Sevens". Stuff.co.nz. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ↑ "CLAUDIA PEÑA, POL PLA, AND MANU MORENO IN WORLD RUGBY'S DREAM TEAM". ferugby.es. May 17, 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ↑ "Men's 7s European Games 2023". rugbyeurope.eu. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ↑ Williamson, Nathan (May 6, 2025). "Levi, Nasser honoured as part of SVNS Dream Team for 2024-25". Rugby.com.au. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ↑ Lee, Henry (7 March 2026). "All Blacks Sevens fall short to Spain as Black Ferns Sevens run riot". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ "Peerless Blitzboks romp to Vancouver title". svns.com. 9 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ↑ "Argentina on course to defend their Hong Kong crown after making semi-finals with Spain, South Africa and New Zealand". svns.com. 18 April 2026. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
- ↑ Morton, Finn (4 July 2026). "Maddison Levi among first 16 marquee players signed on for Ultimate Sevens". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
- ↑ Kitson, Robert (14 May 2026). "Ultimate Sevens to launch in September as rugby union's £2m answer to the Hundred". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
- ↑ "The 'Manu Moreno phenomenon': rugby player, model, and medical student". Antena3.com. 2 Feb 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ↑ Letonja, Jana. "IN CONVERSATION WITH MANU MORENO & JAIME MATA". Numeronetherlands.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.