Special Feature

In the third part of this special feature, Linha de Ensaio had the pleasure of talking with three players from Portugal’s National Team: Mariana Marques, Márcia Santos, and Antónia Braga Martins

Here, we spoke with three national team players and tried to understand a bit better how they started playing rugby, what are the Portugal’s goals, how can they manage their studies with the sport and how they see things going forward.

We would like to thank all who have been involved in these interviews (Francisco Goes, João Telhada, Mariana Marques, Márcia Santos, and Antónia Braga Martins) for their time and help – without them, it wouldn’t be possible to write these articles.

How old were you when you started playing rugby? How did it happen?

Mariana: I started playing when I was seven years-old when AEESAC opened their academy. It was a bit random, at that age I was already swimming and doing karate but what I really wanted was to play football. My dad, who also plays rugby, looked for teams in Coimbra that had women’s football but couldn’t find any. So he took one of his mate’s advice and took me to a rugby practice and since then, I haven’t stopped.

Márcia: I started playing when I was 13 years-old, in the Escolinha de Rugby da Galiza. I was in an after-school club that happened to have rugby (for boys only) but that was about to start a girl’s team. I knew of rubgy but I had never played so one day after class (and homework), I was looking for my girlfriends and wandered close to the rugby pitch and was trying to understand what they were playing. The coach saw me and told me to give it a go. I was shy at first and didn’t go but eventually curiosity got the best of me and that’s how it all started.

Antónia: I started playing in 2006, when I was 8 years-old. Half of my classmates played and I thought I’d give it a go too.

Women’s rugby grew a lot in the past few years and, in the UK, this year’s 6 nations had higher TV ratings than the WSL (Women’s Super League (football)). What are the main changes that you’ve seen since you started playing?

Mariana: A lot of things changed but I think that the best is yet to come, now that the National Team is back on active duty. I think that this will bring more sponsorships and support in general.

Márcia: I think that society started to better accept diversity in sport and rugby, in particular, it’s a sport that attracts a lot of curious people. With more women playing rugby, the number of teams increased and, consequently, more tournaments were created which helped everyone. On the pitch, we can show that even though rugby is a contact sport, it can be played with elegance and flair, which is very attractive for those who watch it.

Antónia: I feel that, in he past years, rugby (both genders) has had much more time in the media – women’s rugby especially. On the other hand, in several countries, investment (money, coaching staff, and technical aspects (nutrition, technical skills, physio, and others)) allowed for the quality of the game to be raised and made it more interesting for those who watch the sport. In Portugal, I think that we are doing a good job in divulging the sport, attracting more players and creating more teams. However, despite the good progression, there is still a lot to do.

How does your week look like in terms of training sessions/preparation?

Mariana: It depends on where in the season we are, which competitions I’m preparing to and my goals. At the moment, I’m involved in the 7s National Team which involves more training sessions about speed. I’m doing 4-5 training sessions per week plus individual gym sessions. All my weekends are busy with bootcamps or matches.

Márcia: It is very intense. We have several bootcamps as well as regional training sessions, since the players are from different parts of the country. The preparation has been carried out with a lot of coordination and communication so that everyone has the same training and can develop the necessary skill-set to operate at a high level. When I am with the National Team, we have gym sessions for strength and mobility and pitch ones, for speed and endurance. Besides that, we also practice strategy and game-plan.

Antónia: At the moment, my preparation is a bit different from what I have been doing in the past years as I’m prioritising finishing my degree and I don’t have as much time as I used to. Nowadays, I have three sessions a week (one touch and two with contact) and two gym sessions a week.

After a big gap, the National Team is now back in action and the results couldn’t be better: two matches, two wins. What’s your ambition for the future?

Mariana: Honestly, I think we have a good enough squad to compete in the Rugby Europe Championship, both in XV and in 7s. On the former, we are quickly evolving and I’m sure we will reach a very good level.

Márcia: It has been an amazing experience, being part of the National Team. I’d like to underline the work carried out by our coach João Moura and by the whole Rugby Union structure who believed in this project and made the necessary investment so that we could be back in action. We went up 10 places in the World Ranking after the victory against Germany which makes it 14 in total since the beginning of the year – that’s quite something! Our ambition is to carry on climbing places, and to play more and better matches.

Antonia, what did you feel when you scored that (historical) try against Belgium?

After watching the recording, it’s easy to see how I felt: an enormous explosion of joy and a lot of pride for the work that the team did and that was lucky enough to finish.

Antonia, in the last National Team match you opted out of the squad due to how busy you are with your studies at the moment. How do you see your future in rugby and how do you think you’ll be able to coordinate those two aspects of your life?

First of all, I don’t think that it’s necessary (nor possible) to be involved in everything at the same time, whilst maintaining focus. This year, I’m finishing my degree (Medicine) and I’m doing my residence in the north of the country, whilst preparing to accessing my speciality exam. Until I sit the exam, I will focus mostly on this and will have rugby as a hobby and an escape to blow off some steam. After this, my future depends where in the country I’ll be located as there are some areas of Portugal (especially in the interior) that don’t have any clubs nearby. My specialty will also influence my future as my availability (shifts, weekend work, etc) will vary.

Despite all of that, I think that it’ll be possible to coordinate both aspects of my life as it’s a matter of being organised. I think that it’s important to feel satisfied with what we do, both at work and in rugby.

Mariana and Marcia, how do you juggle your academic lives with rugby? What are the main challenges?

Mariana: I think that sacrifice is a very apt work to describe my rugby career so far. However, when you love what you do and when you have a great support network (family and friends) like I am fortunate enough to have, things become a lot easier. I’m still considering what to do in the future but I’m positive I and to carry one doing my part for the sport, both nationally and internationally.

Marcia: During my rugby career, I had a few breaks but I always came back because I could balance my studies with the sport. I am a student, currently finishing my degree (Nursing) and at the moment I had to leave Lisbon to study in Porto which makes things a lot harder since I play for Benfica (Lisbon). To give you an example of how difficult things are, I had to the physical part of training by myself in Porto during the week and then on the weekend I had to go to Lisbon (or other parts of the country) for the matches.

In general, it’s not easy because, as amateur players, we take a lot of time from our personal lives to be able to play rugby. I imagine that it’s a bit different for professional (or even semi-professional) players. Regarding women’s rugby in Portugal, it would be fantastic if there was a better infrastructure available (more training places in the country). Also, it would be great if our National Championship had more matches and smaller gaps between tournaments (both XV and 7s).

What are your plans for the future?

Mariana: I’d like to move to Spain, both for work and for rugby. I have a few possibilities in mind but haven’t decided yet.

Marcia: I think that rugby makes changes in your life that you wouldn’t even imagine. It really helped my development as a person, especially as a teenager but it has also influenced my adult life. From a very early age I learned what teamwork meant and to be altruistic, for example in sharing a water bottle during a training session when we are thirsty and exhausted.

I am going to become a Registered Nurse this year, a job that I think I’ll love doing but I would also like to become a professional rugby player. Unfortunately, we don’t have any professional players in Portugal even though we have the talent and capacity to do so. We have some amazing players like Sofia Nobre, Maria Vasquez or Arlete Gonçalves (all from Benfica). Outside my club, we have Isabel Ozorio (Sporting CP), Mariana Marques (that you guys also spoke with for this interview) or Daniela Correia “Deolinda” (Sport Clube do Porto).

I feel that we should have the ambition to become professional athletes so that we can live from this sport. As an amateur player, we have to put our money money forward in order to be able to play and compete. However, despite not being professional players, we are recognised as elite athletes and that’s our reward.

Antonia: With regards to rugby, after this little “break” that I’m having, I’d like to go back to the pitch and compete again, both domestically and internationally. I’d also like to see the club where I started playing (CRAV) to grow a bit more and to create a women’s team – I’d be very happy to help with that.

When it comes to work, my priority now is to finish my degree and to get the highest mark possible in my speciality exam so I can have several choices to choose from.