Portuguese rugby team suffers biggest defeat ever

The Portuguese rugby team suffered this Saturday the heaviest defeat in its history, against Ireland (106-7), in a match in which the try obtained was insufficient to alleviate the 'pain' of a performance in keeping with the result.

Nicolas Martins (53 minutes) scored the only try for the Portuguese team at the National Stadium, in the second half, in an official World Rugby test in which the 'wolves' were 'crushed' by 16 Irish tries and ended up fighting, unsuccessfully, to prevent the score from reaching three figures for the visitors.

The 99-point difference in the score exceeds the 95 points in the defeat suffered against New Zealand (108-13) in the 2007 World Cup, in what was, to date, Portugal's heaviest defeat.

The match against Ireland was also the second time that the 'wolves' conceded more than 100 points in a match.

And the third-placed team in the world rankings even appeared at the National Stadium in Oeiras, without a large number of its key players, who are currently on tour with the British and Irish Lions in the southern hemisphere.

But that didn't stop the game from being practically one-way traffic from the very first kick, when Stuart McCloskey crossed the try-line for the first time for the Irish, just 46 seconds into the game.

The result grew and the 54-0 difference at half-time already suggested a historic end to the afternoon, for the worse, especially since Portugal was also without Rodrigo Marta, Raffaele Storti, José Lima, Samuel Marques, Cody Thomas and Anthony Alves, all injured.

To add to the list, the captain, Tomás Appleton, also left on a stretcher, in the 21st minute, and his own replacement, Gabriel Aviragnet, was also on the field for no more than 12 minutes, in a match in which several players ended up with physical complaints.

Portugal still tried to at least show the quality of its attacking game, but only managed to do so once in each half of the match.

Nuno Sousa Guedes (19), on the day of his 50th international appearance, crossed the finish line, but the video referee spotted a forward pass from Vincent Pinto, which prevented the CDUP player from reducing the score to 28-7.

In the second half, again with Vincent Pinto 'assisting' a teammate, this time legally, it was Nicolas Martins (53) who scored the Portuguese try of honor, converted by Hugo Aubry.

With the exception of these two incidents, Ireland completely outclassed the Portuguese team, which, despite having the opportunity to face several 'Tier 1' teams since the 2023 World Cup (South Africa, Scotland and Ireland), showed, this time, that it is not prepared for the size of the challenge.

Game at the National Stadium, in Oeiras.

Portugal – Ireland, 0-54.

At half time: 7-106.

Refereeed by Englishman Adam Leal, the teams lined up:

• Portugal: David Costa, Luka Begic, Diogo Hasse Ferreira, António Rebelo de Andrade, Pedro Ferreira, David Wallis, Nicolas Martins, Diego Pinheiro, Hugo Camacho, Hugo Aubry, Manuel Cardoso Pinto, Tomás Appleton, Vincent Pinto, Simão Bento and Nuno Sousa Guedes.

Also playing were: Abel Cunha, Pedro Lopes, Martim Souto, Guilherme Costa, Francisco Almeida, Vasco Baptista, António Campos and Gabriel Aviragnet.

Essays (1): Nicolas Martins (53).

Conversions (1): Hugo Aubry (54).

Coach: Simon Mannix (New Zealand).

• Ireland: Jack Boyle, Gus McCarthy, Thomas Clarkson, Tom Ahern, Darragh Murray, Ryan Baird, Alex Kendellen, Cian Prendergast, Craig Casei, Jack Crowley, Shayne Bolton, Stuart McCloskey, Hugh Gavin, Tommy O'Brien and Jimmy O'Brien.

Also playing were: Tom Stewart, Michael Milne, Tom O'Toole, Cormac Izuchukwu, Max Deegan, Ben Murphy, Ciaran Frawley and Calvin Nash.

Tries (16): Stuart McCloskey (01), Hugh Gavin (08, 34, 39), Tommy O'Brien (10, 23), Shayne Bolton (12), Thomas Clarkson (30), Craig Casey (42), Cian Prendergast (51, 59), Calvin Nash (55), Ciaran Frwaley (57), Alex Kendellen (70), Ben Murphy (76), penalty try (80+2).

Conversions (12): Jack Crowley (02, 09, 11, 13, 24, 31, 39, 42, 58, 60, 71, 77).

Selector: Paul O'Connell.

Disciplinary action: nothing to report.

Attendance: approximately 6,500 spectators.