Claudia Pena: From Barcelona to Twickenham... meet Harlequins' new star

Clàudia Peña has spent her life settling scores.

Despite hailing from one of the football capitals of the world, the Barcelona native had an oval ball in her hands from the day she was born. 

Taught the rules of the game by her father and egged on by her brother, Peña was battle-hardened by the experience of playing with boys right through her teenage years.

“All of my life, I have been fighting,” said Peña, who played for Barcelona AVRFCB, the rugby arm of FC Barcelona. 

“There was a point that all the boys were bigger than me, stronger and faster, so I had to improve my individual skills to beat them in another way, not in a physical way.

“Sometimes it’s difficult, because not everyone is on your side. Not everyone wants women’s rugby to be the best - sometimes you’re fighting with the boys. 

“Playing with boys, that was one of the things that encouraged me to be better.”

What a line from Clàudia Peña 💃#COYQ #HARvTRA pic.twitter.com/gyLRczkpNB

— Harlequins Women 🃏 (@HarlequinsWomen) December 2, 2024

Peña became known in the Spanish rugby community as ‘the girl who plays for Barca’ - a moniker she came to resent.

“I wanted to feel like I was doing well, not as the girl, but as myself,” she says.

Barcelona AVRFCB have gained a number of back-to-back promotions and with Peña graduating into the senior team, rose to fourth in the Spanish top flight. 

That rapid rise was due in no small part to the involvement of Aroa González, Spain’s most capped international player.

“She taught me about a lot more than just rugby,” said Peña. “For her, it is all about passion and with that behind us, the team improved a lot over the years.”

Aged just 19, Peña took the plunge and opted to switch Catalonia for south-west London, given the opportunity to test herself with Harlequins in Premiership Women’s Rugby.

Clàudia Peña with the hand-off 😤
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Beth Wilcock with the chase and finish 😍#COYQ #SARvHAR pic.twitter.com/7ShsCGYy7f

— Harlequins Women 🃏 (@HarlequinsWomen) November 26, 2024

“I knew that coming here, I would get to play against a lot of international players,” she says. “I thought that was a good challenge for me, to have more adaptability and get used to a different system.

“As a person, I’m learning to live on my own in a new city and I’m really enjoying it. All of the staff are doing their best for me and as a team, we are striving to stay in the top four.”

With the same flinty purpose forged by her determination to beat the boys, Peña now walks around with a different point to prove.

She is expected to be one of the standard-bearers for the Spanish side at the 2025 Rugby World Cup.

“As Spanish players, we are showing to the world that we have been improving in all of these years,” she says. 

“We are proving to people that Spanish players are here, we’re at a good level and we want to be better, we’re still growing and this is a step forward for us.

“In Spain, we’re still improving our league step-by-step. One day, we will arrive at the same level as Premiership Women’s Rugby.”

Peña saves her broadest smile for the prospect of stepping out at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham for Big Game 16. 

The Spaniard will step out on the hallowed turf for the first time on 28 December as Quins take on Leicester Tigers.

“I think Twickenham is one of the best stadiums ever,” she said. “Everyone has told me about the huge and amazing experience of the Big Game.

“It will be amazing to play here when all of the eyes are on us and it’s great that men’s and women’s rugby is on the same platform.”