Drive the Spanish rugby player first (6)
I believe the answer is:
propel
'drive' is the definition.
(I know this)
'the spanish rugby player first' is the wordplay.
'the spanish' becomes 'el' ('the' in Spanish).
'rugby player' becomes 'prop' (I've seen this before).
'first' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'el' put after 'prop' is 'PROPEL'.
(Other definitions for propel that I've seen before include "Drive forwards" , "Derive of push forward" , "Cause to move forward with force" , "Give impetus to" , "Drive or push forward as with oars" .)