Râguebi – 19:03
By Miguel Morgado
Portugal rose to 16th place in the World Rugby ranking. Wolves, commanded by Frenchman Patrice Lagisquet, equal the highest position achieved by the National Team in the world hierarchy, obtained in 2005. In that year, Tomás Morais led the Portuguese rugby team. Responsible for the 3rd place in the European Championship (2005-2006), he would, in the play-off, guarantee qualification and his debut in the 2007 World Cup, held in France.
The victory (38-20) of the national team against Romania in the 3rd and last round of the group stage of the Rugby Europe Championship 2023 (REC), at the end of a 100% victorious campaign of three matches in the European competition (and the Spain’s loss to Georgia), catapulted the Wolves to a two-step climb to the world’s ceiling.
The record, now equaled, was preceded by two triumphs and a draw by the National Team (20th at the time) in the play-off tournament for the France 2023 World Cup, held in Dubai, last November, and by qualifying for the world championship, the second in its history.
Patrice Lagisquet, a former international and former member of the coaching staff of the French national team in 2015, took over as national coach in June 2019. He made his debut in charge of the Wolves (21st), promoted to the European Championship, on a tour to South America (Brazil and Chile), in the “November Window” of that year.
2015 and 2016 are the worst years for Portugal (30th) in the table. The lowest score was recorded on March 21, 2016: 54.29 points. The highest, on February 7, 66.84. The current one is 66.94 pts.
