Proud Portugal claim plenty of attention with pioneers’ spiritThere have been many moments of high emotion already at this World Cup but none, perhaps, that struck a chord as much as that displayed by Portugal before their historic opening match against Scotland. The players had hugged each other with vigour and bawled their eyes and hearts out during the national anthem. Symbolically it meant so much for them as individuals and for the country as a whole. It was the very essence of sport. For a team almost exclusively made up of amateurs, it was the culmination of a long journey, a tortuous and demanding qualification process that had begun in earnest 15 months ago, involved eight matches in three continents, considerable personal and professional sacrifice and many moments of doubt along the way as to whether it was all worth it. When they took the field in St-Etienne, the players knew that it had been. Their performance confounded expectation. Portugal, who have been making steady inroads on the international sevens circuit, were far from disgraced in a 56-10 defeat that flattered the Scots. “When we ran out, we touched the grass,” Luis Pissarra, the scrum half and vice-captain, said. “Our dream had come true. The national anthem was so emotional. I was crying, many of us were. We had been through so much together for so long, to be there was unbelievable. It was a unique moment.” It was a day to relish and savour, a day on which Portugal grabbed the attention of the rugby world and made an uninterested public back home – one obsessed with football - sit up and take notice. Suddenly papers and television stations clocked on to the exploits of Los Lobos, the Wolves; so have the Government, sponsors and supporters, such as Nando’s, the Portuguese chicken restaurant chain. Pissarra, 31, who won the first of his 73 caps in 1996, hopes the impact of making the finals for the first time will help to secure Portugal’s rugby future. On a personal note, it has made a difference. He was recognised in a supermarket by a woman who said that until recently all her young son cared about was soccer. Every day he would play in the street, pretending to be Nani or Cristiano Ronaldo. Then, just before the tournament, he had asked her for a rugby ball. “You can sense that the young are starting to feel the spirit,” Pissarra said. “People can see us trying our hardest, giving everything. In the last two or three years, the number of children between 10 and 15 playing rugby has tripled. We feel we are pioneers, working for the future of Portuguese rugby, not in the short or medium term, but in the long term.” Portugal are a welcome throwback to the amateur days and values. They have only 120 senior players to choose from, yet in their outlook and commitment, they are utterly professional. They are a mixture of lawyers, doctors, vets, teachers and students. Pissarra is a vet based in Lisbon whose work sometimes takes him 100km into the countryside. He trains twice a day, early in the morning and late at night. “It has been very hard but it has been worth it,” he said. “The goal has been achieved. Sometimes I have thought about quitting, but when we started to put our efforts into a collective goal [playing in the World Cup], you can’t quit. We are needed here. We have had a lot of support from back home, from people who know nothing about rugby but who are with us in spirit because we are representing Portugal. People have felt a lot of pride.” Portugal’s next match is against New Zealand tomorrow. The prospect has raised genuine concerns about safety. Pissarra says that people should not worry. “I don’t think about it,” he said. “We can be injured in any match. We are usually smaller than everyone else but we can fight them. We have beaten Romania and Georgia and they were bigger than us. We can survive. “This is the game everyone wants to see, the amateurs against the All Blacks. I am very excited. It is a childhood dream. We have our objectives in the scrum, lineout and tackle; we will try to achieve those. We want to give our best, especially in defence, but we are not just going there to admire New Zealand and watch the Haka.” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 700.ece%20
Belo texto...Obrigado, Martelo!
New Zealand defeat Portugal 108-13LYON, 15 September - The All Blacks have defeated Portugal 108-13 after a tough match which saw moments of brilliance from the Lobos. The Pool C match at Stade Gerland was far from one-way traffic, Portugal scoring a try and launching a series of testing attacks. Portugal began the match aggressively but a wayward pass saw the All Blacks camped on their 22-metre line, Joe Rokocoko scoring in the fourth minute from a ruck in centre field.Rokocoko crossed again in the 13th minute, running 35m to the line.Portugal attacked aggressively when they had the ball, fly half Goncalo Malheiro falling short with a long-range drop goal.He intercepted a pass soon after, pinning the All Blacks in their corner with a kick, before succeeding with his second drop goal attempt.New Zealand responded quickly, Isaia Toeava dotting down under the posts.Second row Ali Williams, inside centre Aaron Mauger, captain Jerry Collins, flanker Chris Masoe and hooker Andrew Hore all touched down before the end of the half.The second half began slowly, New Zealand making a number of handling errors before Portugal launched a series of drives toward the All Black line. Replacement prop Rui Cordeiro crashed over to grab Portugal's first try against New Zealand. However, the All Blacks responded a minute later, scrum half Brendon Leonard breaking the line.Portugal then dominated possession for a long period but could not score.Nick Evans and replacement scrum half Andrew Ellis scored within minutes of each other when New Zealand regained the ball.Mauger crossed for his second in the 67th minute. Leon MacDonald, Conrad Smith (twice) and Carl Hayman touched down late in the half.
Rugby-World-Portugal beat the All Blacks at soccer Sun Sep 16, 2007 10:05am BSTLYON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Portugal gained some measure of revenge for their 108-13 defeat at the hands of the All Blacks when they beat the New Zealanders in an impromptu game of soccer.All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw and his fellow replacements challenged "Os Lobos" (the wolves) to the match as they warmed down on the pitch at the Gerland stadium in Lyon after Saturday's encounter.The Portuguese showed their superior skill with the round ball with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Graham Henry's men.The defeated All Blacks treated the Portuguese to a beer in their changing rooms according to French sports daily L'Equipe."These All Blacks are really great guys," said second row Goncalo Uva. "We had an unforgettable day."
