Super-cup #1

The Portuguese team Lusitanos XV defeated the Castilla y Leon Iberians by 34-19, in the first round of the SuperCup 2021.

It was in a sunny afternoon that the Lusitanos XV played the first match on the 2021 edition of the SuperCup, the new international competition managed by Rugby Europe. Their opponents: the Castilla y Leon Iberians, that travelled from Spain to Lisbon for this match.

The best part:

The speed and style of Portuguese rugby. Fluid, flashy, with a lot of options.

Jose Paiva dos Santos’ try: minute 71, Sousa Guedes gets the ball just outside of the Portuguese 22. In a breakthrough of 50 metres that beats four Spanish defenders, he passes to Paiva dos Santos that, close to the touch line on the right side, side-steps the last Iberian defender to then dive for the try. Sublime.

The not-so-good part:

line-outs and scrums. Lacking criteria and consistency, they caused several problems for the Portuguese team.

Man of the match: Nuno Sousa Guedes. The Portuguese Fullback was unstoppable, finishing the game with 19 points and two assists. He created all sorts of problems for the Spanish defensive line due to his pace and ability to beat defenders. After performing at a very high level for the Lobos, he continues to display an amazing form and showing that he can make the difference for both Portugal and Lusitanos XV.

The story of the game:

The first half was a game of small margins, with little space to play and with very few opportunities for both teams. The Portuguese team showed, from the very beginning, to be more connected than the Iberians that, despite having a more experienced team, didn’t play a fluid and objective game, both in offense and defense.

The scoreboard advanced only changed by the boot and the score at half time was 12-6.

The second half started with the Iberians on the front foot and the Spanish team reduced the margin to three points. Perhaps triggered by this, the Lusitanos started playing a very high-paced rugby, with a lot of short passes and fast exchanges, opening up a lot of spaces in the Spanish defensive wall. The first Portuguese try came naturally (44 mins) and it was scored by the hooker Duarte Diniz.

The game carried on in the same style, with the Portuguese team always ahead in the scoreboard. The final score was 34-19, with four tries for the Lusitanos against one from the Iberians.

The two teams will face each other again next weekend, in Spain, for the second round of the SuperCup 2021.