When Ireland step out at Twickenham on Saturday chasing Grand Slam glory there will be another thriller taking place 300 miles south-east in Brussels.
An in-form Spain side – currently ranked 19 in the world – are on the brink of direct qualification to a first Rugby World Cup since 1999 when they take on Belgium at Kleine Heinz Stadium.
Georgia may top the table having completed all their five matches, but a win in Brussels would lift the Lions to second place in the standings and an automatic place in Pool A alongside Ireland, Scotland and hosts Japan in the showpiece event next September.
In their four Rugby World Cup European qualifier matches this season, Los Leones have lost just once – a 23-10 defeat in Tbilisi – and continue to show signs of improvement with each match.
In front of 15,000 people last Sunday – and watched by King Felipe VI – Spain scored 12 tries to comprehensively beat Germany 84-10 in Madrid.
Of the current 26-man squad, 17 of the players ply their trade in France with clubs like Bayonne, Narbonne, Grenoble and Beziers.
The remaining nine players line out in Spain’s domestic rugby competition – the Division de Honour – with four at Alcobendas, two with Valladolid and El Salavador, and one with Ordizia.
Central to their attacking prowess this season is Mathieu Peluchon. The 30-year-old full-back is – like some members of the squad – born in France and plays for Albi in Pro D2.
A native of Bordeaux, Peluchon has been the tipping point between Spain winning and losing in recent months, scoring 25 across the four matches.
Another bright spark starting to show his class is Charly Malie – a Beziers man who is developing into a real gem at Top 14 side Pau where the likes of Colin Slade, Conrad Smith and Steffon Armitage are honing their skills.
Although players like Malie may not be regular starters with their clubs each week, they are still involved in the set-up, learning, playing against better opposition and bringing back valuable skills to the international set-up.
To have players coming across the border from France in a bid to play international rugby with Spain is only going to help the development of the sport going forward.
Whether people have an issue with a player swapping his national colours or not, it’s down to the individual and they have a right to maximise their potential in what is a short career. France’s loss – with all their talent already – is Spain and other nations’ gains.
Signs of rugby’s rise have been evident for some time now. In 2016, the Top 14 final was staged at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, the first time the top-most clash in French rugby was contested outside the country.
Over 99,124 turned up to watch an epic battle between eventual winners Racing 92 and Toulon.
And later this year, the Champions Cup final will take place at the Mames Stadium in Bilbao, which is another indication of World Rugby looking to develop the sport in Spain.
With 51,123 registered rugby union players in the country, participation rates have jumped but the challenges of having to contend with football will always prove difficult.
Most kids growing up around Spain are more likely to follow Real Madrid or Barcelona and idolise sports stars like Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos and Rafa Nadal rather than a venerable prop with ears like satellite dishes in Benat Auzqui.
It’ll always prove a test when the country is sprinkled with football stardom, but being able to showcase their skills in a Rugby World Cup will only do wonders to the development of the sport in Spain.
Saturday’s match in Brussels will take place at the 8,000-seater Kleine Heizel Stadium; a far cry from the 82,000 attendance set to be at Twickenham. And what an occasion it would be to see Spain back competing against the best in Japan in 2019.
