Who is APSM Rugby? Meet the man behind rugby’s favourite archive footage account

30 July 2026

In April 2020, an account known as @APSMRugby popped up on Twitter. It quickly became a sensation among rugby lovers as it began sharing all sorts of classic archive footage, much of which had never been seen online before.

Despite rugby’s long history, it isn’t a sport that does a lot to archive and promote its storied past to its fanbase.

@APSMRugby has done more for keeping the history of the sport alive than any official online rugby platform. Until now, the man behind the account has kept a low profile. The East Terrace is thrilled to publish an exclusive Q&A with Alberto, the man that makes the magic happen.

Firstly, can you tell us a bit about yourself? Where are you from in Spain and how did you first get into rugby?

I’m from Madrid, Spain, and rugby has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up watching matches at home on a black-and-white television, and my father and my uncle also took me to games at our local stadium. When I was 13, my father took me to my first training session. From that moment on, I played rugby for almost 20 years.

I believe you may have spent time in Ireland? How did that happen and what rugby did you watch or play then?

I spent a year studying in Dublin. I wanted to stay involved in rugby, so I joined the local club, as it was close to where I was living. What impressed me most was not only the intensity of the training sessions but also the sheer number of players across every age group. At weekends I played for the club and also took every opportunity to watch the first team. During that year, I also experienced my first Five Nations matches live at Lansdowne Road.

Your social media channels have become legendary in rugby circles for pulling out not just classic footage, but footage that otherwise isn’t in the public domain. Can you tell us firstly why you start sharing online videos of old rugby clips?

During the pandemic, I rediscovered several old boxes in my attic filled with Beta, VHS and DV tapes that I had been collecting over the years. Realising that many of them were beginning to deteriorate, I started digitising them using an old PC and a video capture card. As I gradually became aware of how many hours of historic rugby footage I had preserved, I thought that other rugby fans might enjoy seeing it too. That’s when I decided to start sharing it online.

Where did you start? Was it on YouTube?

Yes, YouTube was where it all began. I started by uploading full matches and, over time, built a huge library on the platform. There was a great community of rugby fans who watched the videos and regularly shared their thoughts in the comments.

What does APSM stand for?

They’re simply the initials of my full name and surname. Many people assume APSMRugby is run by a team of people, but it’s actually just me.

You mentioned to me once that you have over 200 video tapes of rugby. How did you come to have so many and where are they from?

From an early age I recorded almost every rugby match shown on Spanish television. There wasn’t much coverage at the time, mainly the Five Nations, the major summer tours and a handful of club matches. I also had a friend who travelled abroad frequently, and whenever he did, I asked him to bring back as many rugby recordings as he could find. Over the years, that gradually became a remarkable archive.

You’re not from Wales, but seem to have an awful lot of quality and often obscure Welsh footage, how and why is that? What is it you like about Welsh rugby?

I’ve always loved Welsh rugby, particularly the teams of the 1970s. At the same time, I was also fascinated by French rugby. However, Wales’ 1988 Triple Crown, and especially their match against Scotland in Cardiff, sparked my curiosity even further. From that moment on, I tried to find as much information and archive footage as I could about Welsh rugby. What captivated me most was the incredible club culture and the intensity of the regional rivalries.

What kind of footage gets the best engagement? Is it old games, or certain old players or is it stuff that maybe hasn’t been seen since it happened at the time?

I think it’s a combination of several things. There isn’t a single formula – every video seems to find its own audience. Personally, I believe the best-performing clips are those that combine unusual moments with archive footage that many people haven’t seen for decades. They create a sense of nostalgia for the rugby of another era.

I also try to highlight details that might have gone unnoticed at the time – the power of the scrums, the line-outs, the tackling techniques and the little moments that tell the real story of how rugby was played. Sometimes that even includes on-field fights. They may look shocking today, but they were part of the game back then and leaving them out would be ignoring an important part of rugby history. At the same time, I enjoy keeping the memory of the great players alive by sharing compilations of their finest moments.

What is your experience with copyright issues? How come you still haven’t been shut down!?

After a couple of years on YouTube, I inevitably ran into copyright issues over full-match uploads, and the channel was eventually removed. That’s when I decided to move to X and later Instagram.

Today I no longer upload full matches. Instead, I share very short extracts, and so far I haven’t had any significant copyright issues on those platforms, apart from the occasional claim, which is usually related to the audio rather than the footage itself. I fully understand that I don’t own the rights to these matches. I simply do this as a hobby, with the aim of preserving and sharing rugby history with other fans.

Are people now sharing content with you? How do you get new videos?

I still digitise old tapes that friends occasionally give me, but nowadays most of the new material I publish comes from archive collections, regional archives, online sources and links shared by other rugby enthusiasts. The rugby community has been incredibly supportive, and many people now send me footage or point me towards material that might otherwise have been forgotten.

Are there any games or moments you don’t have that you would love to find? Or eras where it is hard to get good footage from?

There will always be footage that has been lost forever and will probably never be found. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, rugby enthusiasts around the world have uploaded thousands of hours of historic footage, and every now and then someone discovers a forgotten gem and shares it with everyone.

The biggest challenge is Spain. The major rugby nations have preserved a great deal of their archive, but here it’s almost impossible to find anything because Spanish Television has still not digitised most of its historic rugby footage.

Any interesting stories from interactions with others in the rugby community, thanks to your videos?

The response from the rugby community has been incredible. So many people have shown an interest in my content. I usually stay in the background and let people interact with each other, sharing memories and telling their own stories. I’m fortunate that almost all the comments are respectful, and the channel has become a place where people not only rediscover remarkable moments from rugby history, but where, quite often, the very players who took part in those matches join the conversation to share what it was like to experience those moments first-hand.
The most rewarding part of this journey has been hearing from people who have recognised relatives or friends in the footage, or who have been able to relive special memories through material they thought had been lost forever.

What are some of your all time favourite games or moments from your videos?

There are so many that it’s impossible to choose just one. If I had to pick, I’d probably choose the clips that capture the spirit of a particular era or show aspects of the game that have disappeared because of changes to the laws. 

Finally, tell us about your rugby life. Which teams and players do you support and how much rugby do you follow from today?

These days I don’t follow modern rugby as closely as I used to. The game has changed enormously over the years, and the sheer volume of matches now being played has made it difficult for me to keep the same level of interest.

Thanks to @APSMRugby for taking the time to answer our questions. If you aren’t already following him, make sure to do so.

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