Rugby Europe Trophy 2022/23
Portugal defeated Czechia (51-0), in the third round of the Rugby Europe Trophy 2022/23.
Written by: Mariana Honorio
The best part: Portugal has won all matches so far and scored 51 points in a match where, once again, hasn’t conceded any points (Portugal scored 161 points and conceded only 5 in the three matches played thus far). The Lobas showed they deserve to be top of the Trophy.
The not-so-good part: Even though it didn’t result in any conceded points, Portugal made too many penalties, especially at the breakdown.
Player of the match: Individually, there were several backs that had great carries and read the game really well such as Inês Spínola, Leonor Amaral, Isabel Ozório, and Daniela Correia. The forwards were very consistent with Sara Moreira, Laura Pereira, and Arlete Gonçalves making several metres each. Marta Magalhães brought an extra layer of quality to the game, moving very well on the pitch and making good decisions with the ball in hand. However, the player of the match was Matilde Goes – amazing at reading the game and with amazing pace, the 18yo winger scored two tries and cause countless headaches every time she got involved.
Portugal hosted Czechia in Lisbon (Jamor) in the third round of the Rugby Europe Trophy. Both teams had won the previous match with Portugal beating Finland (39-0) and the visitors defeating Belgium (29-21).
Portugal had a few injured players, with Mariana Marques (our player of the match against Finland) and Mariana Santos) out. However, the 23 players that João Moura chose maintained the high pace and game control that are the staples of Portuguese Women’s rugby. The Portuguese forwards were also very consistent, controlling their Czech counterparts in the rare occasions they reached the Portuguese 22.
In control of operations, it took Portugal only 8 minutes to put points on the board, through a penalty scored by the captain Daniela Correia. With some handling mistakes from both teams, Portugal’s pack had the chance to show their worth, dominating the scrum. However, the key to the match was on the wings, with Portugal creating danger every time the ball arrived there.
At the 22nd minute, Inês Spínola scored the first of eight tries following yet another Czech penalty. The Olimpico de Pozuelo player found a gap and had little difficulty in crossing the try line. That try “broke the dam” and all hell broke loose. Leonor Amaral scored 7 minutes later following an outrageous dummy and at the 34th minute, Portugal scored its third try: Matilde Goes beat two defenders before offloading to Ana Freire that scored unopposed.
Czechia was struggling to get back on the match and it took the visitors 42 minutes to have their first line break of the half. However, their efforts were thwarted by an amazing tackle by the centre Maria João Costa, that won the turnover and send both team to half time.
The second half brought more of the same with Portugal controlling the gaps and reacting lethally to the mistakes that Czechia was making. At the 48th minute Isabel Ozório scored the first try of the second half, following several phases where the Portuguese pack controlled operations and created the gap necessary to score.
The last 20 minutes of the match were more disjointed and both teams had more chances to score. When Czechia seemed to be close to score, Daniela Correia kicked a brilliant 50/22 and shifted the momentum of the game. Portugal started rotating players and Beatriz Oliveira and Ana Teresa brought even more speed off the ruck, with the new half-back duo opening the necessary gaps for Matilde Goes to score her first try. There were some changes in the pack with Beatriz Rodrigues, Teresa Pereira, and Neuza Reis coming in and maintaining the scrum solidity that their predecessors had started.
Portugal wanted to score more tries and with 10 minutes to go, a great play where the ball navigated from wing to wing saw Matilde Goes score her second try of the afternoon, following a great individual bit of skill – the cherry on top for the SL Benfica winger.
Inês Barbosa was the last player to come in and was involved in the past offensive play of the match: after kick-off and following a series of offloads, dummies and crisp passes, Portugal displayed all the flair they had and showed some impressive rugby that allowed the them to return to the Czech’s 22. A couple of minutes later, Daniela Correia scored another try, following good pressure from Cátia João.
Raquel Costa set the score with the clock on red, following another great line break by Matilde Goes and excellent support from Beatriz Oliveira and Daniela Correia that kept the rhythm up. 51-0 on the board and another statement from the Portuguese players, showing that they’re (more than) ready for the Championship.
Linha de Ensaio spoke with Ana Teresa Santos, the scrum-half that “directed” Portugal’s last tries:
“It was a bit of a confusing game at the beginning where we couldn’t get to the rucks as quickly as we wanted. However, things improved and we ended things on a high. Next match will be away against Germany and I expect it to be a tough one with new obstacles for us to overcome. We made a few mistakes but will analyse them and work so that we don’t do them again”.
