Rugby Europe Super Cup 2022: Semi-Final
Lusitanos hosted the Tel-Aviv Heat and lost the chance to qualify to Rugby Europe Super Cup’s final (22-30).
Written by: Nuno Madeira do O
The best part: It was a balanced match, very physical, with the two teams battling for each metre. The Lusitanos fielded a very young team (the starting XV had an average age of 23) and gave an excellent reply to an older and more experienced team. It was a great opportunity for these players to show their worth and prepare for being the future of the Portuguese team.
The not-so-good part: It wasn’t the final score that the team wanted and it impeded the team to get to the final. On the pitch, the loss was due to the lack of discipline of the Portuguese team that made several penalties and gave the Heat the necessary opportunities to get ahead on the scoreboard and manage the match with some tranquility.
Player of the match: In the Portuguese side, Paiva dos Santos scored a brace, Manuel Cardoso Pinto created danger every time he attacked and Jerónimo Portela had a great match, controlling the Portuguese offensive maneuver and kicking well. However, the player of the match was Jordan Chait. The South African was almost flawless from the tee, scoring 20 of the 30 points for his side (six penalties and one conversion).
It was under a grey sky that the Lusitanos hosted the Isrealy side Heat, in a match where the winner would get a ticket to the Rugby Europe Super Cup’s final. The Portuguese franchise fielded a very young side in which some of the players (Rafael Simões, Tomás Appleton, Nuno Sousa Guedes) that had helped the Lobos to qualify for the World Cup took a break.
The match started practically with a penalty for the Heat. Jordan Chait opened his personal count and put the away team ahead. 0-3 with three minutes played. The Lusitanos tried to get back in the game but the Isreali franchise was very aggressive in defence and wouldn’t let the Lusitanos play the fast and open rugby they love.
With 11 minutes played, the Heat won a penalty on the Portuguese 22 and Chait doubled their lead. Five minutes later, the first try of the match: the Heat won another penalty and kicked to the corner. Line out won and an unstoppable driving maul. Chait failed the conversion and moved the scoreboard to 0-11.
One had to wait until the 21st minute to see the first Lusitano attack. Manuel Cardoso Pinto found a gap in the Israeli defence and won a penalty inside the 22. Jerónimo Portela didn’t miss and narrowed the gap to 3-11.
These points seemed to give the Lusitanos a boost and they scored they first try ten minutes later. Missed line out from the Heat, Duarte Torgal and João Granate gained several metres until the ball reached José Paiva dos Santos on the right wing. Despite two defenders, he scored and the scoreboard moved to 10-11, score that didn’t change until halftime.
The Lusitanos started the second half on top and played the first five minutes inside the Heat’s half. However, it was the away team that scored again. After missing a penalty with five minutes played, Chait did not miss another chance and scored a penalty, some 50m away from the posts (10-14). Ten minutes later, the Heat scored another try. Scrum won in a central position, ball eventually to the wing and score on the corner (10-21).
At the 58th minute, it was Lusitanos’ time to score. Line out won with the ball crossing the entire pitch, Domingos Cabral got rid of two defenders before assisting Manuel Cardoso Pinto on the left wing for the try. Conversion missed and 15-21.
Three minutes later, the Heat won another penalty and Chait gave the away team three more points (15-24). With sixty-three minutes played, Heat saw a yellow card and all the Portuguese fans watching the match thought it was the perfect time for the home team to turn things around. However, four minutes later, the Heat won a scrum penalty and increased the gap to 15-27.
With 75 minutes played, it was Duarte Diniz’s turn to see a yellow card and with it, another penalty for the Tel-Aviv Heat that Chait didn’t miss (15-30). With the win assured for the away team, José Paiva dos Santos scored his second of the match. Line out from Frederico Simões that goes around the maul and assists with a great inside pass (22-30).
It’s a shame that the Portuguese franchise couldn’t make it to the final but the players left very positive indications on the pitch and showed that Portuguese rugby has plenty of reasons to smile.
