What now?

Article by: Nuno Madeira do O

In the end, all that was left was hope. The World Cup, we only touched it with the tip of our fingers. It stayed so close, yet so far, one metre away from the try line, on the wrong end of a crooked line-out, escaping from a missed tackle.

We were left with tears on our faces, of those who battled past the 80 minutes and those who travelled with the team, cheering from the stands, in an attempt to pushing the XV of Portugal forward.   

 

The Head Coach

The first step is to understand if the coach Patrice Lagisquet wants to stay for another world cup cycle. Portugal has improved massively in the past few years and there are solid foundations (u18, u20, Lusitanos) to build on the work carried out so far. With contract until 2023, the gaulois already indicated that he’d like to carry on but only if his next contract would lead him to the next World Cup (2027).

If the coaching team is to stay, the knowledge gathered over the past few years will be essential to prepare the next cycle and take the Lobos to Australia (where it’s very likely that the next World Cup will take place).  

The Players

In the Rugby Europe Championship 2022, these were the players with the most minutes.

If we add the 2021 REC and the Autumn Internationals, we also have as regular presences on the 23, Mike Tadjer (Hooker, 33 years-old), Nuno Sousa Guedes (Full-back, 27), Raffaele Storti (Winger/Full-back, 21), João Granate (Back Row,25), Pedro Bettencourt (Centre, 27), Simão Bento (Full-back, 20), Duarte Torgal (Second Row, 24) ou Thibault de Freitas (Back Row, 30).

At first glance, the main difference is the age of the forwards and the backs. If we zoom into the Portuguese “tight five”, four out of five players are above 30 years old and in 2027 will be between 36 and 41. That means that Portugal has to renew its pack and start giving more minutes to those who can eventually replace the ones that have been playing more regularly. Looking at who else Patrice Lagisquet used during the REC 2022, we have the following:

Name	Position	Minutes/Age
Diogo Ferreira*	Prop	170/25
Geoffrey Moise*	Prop	57/30
David Costa	Prop	42/22
Cody Thomas*	Prop	24/26
João Mateus	Prop	20/31
Nuno Mascarenhas	Hooker	65/23
Loic Bournonville*	Hooker	50/33
Lionel Campergue*	Hooker	62/34

There are some alternatives for the medium-to-long term but in positions with such a wear and tear, it’s necessary to have more depth. Let’s, then, have a look at the…

Lusitanos XV

When this project was created, the goal was to give players with potential a higher level of training and competition than that of the Portuguese National League. This team would serve almost as a Portugal “B” side, acting as a launchpad for players before they made it into the Lobos squad. If we analyse the six matches that the Lusitanos played so far (480 minutes in total), we have the following:

Position	Name	Minutes	Age
Prop	David Costa	243	22
Hooker	André Arrojado	210	30
Prop	João Mateus	171	31
Prop	António Prim da Costa	131	19
Second Row	Manuel Lima	128	28
Prop	Bruno Rocha	120	29
Prop	Francisco Bruno	109	26
Second Row	Martim Belo	68	21
Hooker	Francisco Cabral	29	22
Hooker	Nuno Mascarenhas	14	23
Second Row	Boaventura Almeida	10	20

Some of these players have already started having a feel for what playing for the Lobos is. Regarding their age, almost 60% are below 23 years of age, which greatly facilitates their integration into long-term projects and goals.

What’s happening back there?

The situation with the Portuguese backs is quite different. From the ones that played the most minutes the past two years, the only one that raises any questions is the scrum-half Samuel Marques that will be 38 in 2027. However, the vast majority of all the other players (and that got so many compliments during 2021 and 2022) will get to the next World Cup in what will be (in theory) the peak of their forms and hopefully will be able to carry on playing that champagne rugby they’ve shown so far.

The Diaspora

Presently, there are about 5,700 people playing rugby in Portugal with the goal being that that number increases to 6,000 by the end of 2022. Even though these are pretty good numbers, they are a lot smaller than those who play for the other teams that usually compete in the Rugby Europe Championship (Georgia, Romania, Spain, and Russia). One of the alternatives can be the players that have Portuguese parents/grandparents. World Rugby changed the rules and any player that hasn’t played for one country for three years, can play for another one, providing they can prove their ancestry.

Portugal used this change to its advantage and called Steevy Cerqueira and Vincent Pinto for the 2022 campaign. Whilst the first one had an amazing impact on the Portuguese line outs (he’s 6ft9), the latter justified this call with two tries scored in four matches.

It is necessary that this scouting carries on, so that the pool of available players can increase. Looking at the countries that combine a passion for rugby and have a great number of Portuguese people, France and South Africa seem to be the best targets.

So, where does all of that leave us?

Missing the World Cup qualification (pending World Rugby’s decision about the possibility of Spain using an ineligible player) was a very tough blow for Portuguese rugby that, from what they showed on the pitch, absolutely deserved to be there. However, there are some rays of sunshine through the grey cloud in the horizon and Portugal has players that can carry on the (excellent) work that they’ve shown so far. By combining strategic thinking and ambition, the qualification for 2027 (where the number of teams should increase from 20 to 24) can be a reality and a deserved award from a generation as talented as this one.