Portugal national rugby union team

National rugby union team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Portugal women's national rugby union team.

Portugal

Nickname| Os Lobos (The Wolves)
Emblem| Portuguese shield
Union| Portuguese Rugby Federation
Head coach| Simon Mannix
Captain| Tomás Appleton
Most caps| Gonçalo Uva (101)
Vasco Uva (101)
Top scorer| Gonçalo Malheiro (279)
Top try scorer| Rodrigo Marta (25)
Home stadium| Various

First colours

Second colours

|

World Rugby ranking
Current| 15 (as of 16 November 2024)
Highest| 13 (2023)
Lowest| 30 (2015, 2016)
First international
Portugal 5–6 Spain
(Lisbon, Portugal; 13 April 1935)
Biggest win
Portugal 93–0 Czech Republic
(Caldas da Rainha, Portugal; 23 March 2019)
Biggest defeat
New Zealand 108–13 Portugal
(Lyon, France; 15 September 2007)
World Cup
Appearances| 2 (First in 2007)
Best result| Pool stage (2007, 2023)
Website| fpr.pt

The Portugal national rugby union team (Portuguese: Seleção Portuguesa de Rugby), nicknamed Os Lobos (The Wolves), represents Portugal in men's international rugby union competitions. The team, as well as all rugby union in Portugal, is administered by the Portuguese Rugby Federation.

Portugal have experienced modest success in the last two decades. They qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France and though they lost all their matches, they managed to score one try in each game and led against Romania until the late minutes. Portugal qualified for their second Rugby World Cup in 2022, topping a repechage qualifying group featuring the United States, Hong Kong, and Kenya to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. In that edition of the tournament, Portugal got their first competition points in a Rugby World Cup when they drew Georgia 18-18. Later on in the tournament, they got their first ever win in the Rugby World Cup when they beat Fiji 24-23 thanks to a late try from Rodrigo Marta.

## History

[edit]

### Early

[edit]

Portugal played its first ever rugby international in April 1935 against Spain, losing by a single point, 6–5.[citation needed] They played Spain again the following year with Spain winning 16–9. Portugal had more regular competition from the mid-1960s, and won their first game in 1966, defeating Spain 9–3.[citation needed] Portugal played Italy for the first time in 1967, losing 6–3. They also had their first match against Romania soon after and lost by 40 points. They defeated Belgium in 1968, and also played Morocco for the first time.

The first game of the 1970s was a draw against the Netherlands. Portugal managed to draw with Italy (nil all) in 1972 and following that, defeated them 9–6 in 1973. After a number of mixed results throughout the early 1970s, Portugal won five matches in a row from 1979 through to 1981. They played Morocco, who won the encounter. After a 1983 draw against Spain, Portugal managed a seven-game winning streak from 1984 to 1985, including wins over Belgium, Denmark, Morocco, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Zimbabwe. The first Rugby World Cup was held in 1987, though it was by invitation, thus there was no qualifying tournament and Portugal did not participate.

### 1990s

[edit]

From 1989 to 1990, the 1991 World Cup qualifiers were held for the European nations. Portugal started in Round 2b in October 1989. They defeated Czechoslovakia 15 to 13 in Ricant to advance to Round 2c. However here they were defeated by the Netherlands 32–3 and eliminated from qualifying.

Portugal again participated in the 1995 World Cup qualifying competition for European teams, starting in Round 1. They were pooled in the West Group, and defeated Belgium and Switzerland, but lost to Spain, advancing into Round 2. Here Wales defeated them, and they lost to Spain.

Portugal began in Pool 3 of Round B in the European qualifying competition for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Portugal won all their group matches, except for the one against Spain, and still finished second in the group, which took them into Pool 3 of Round C. All games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Portugal lost 85–11 to Scotland, and 21–17 to Spain. Both Scotland and Spain went through to the World Cup; Portugal went into repechage, where Portugal lost a home and away series to Uruguay.

### 2000s

[edit]

In 2002, Portugal began playing for a place in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Pool A of Round 3 of the European qualifying tournament. They were grouped with Spain and Poland. Each nation only won one game, though on for and against Portugal finished second to Spain. Portugal were knocked out of competition. In 2003–04, Portugal won the European Nations Cup, losing only one match to win their first championship. In 2004, Professor Tomaz Morais, coach of the Portugal national team at both sevens and fifteen a side, was nominated for the IRB's coach of the year award. This was a remarkable achievement for a coach from a third tier rugby nation. Morais has been credited with much of Portugal's progress in recent years.

In 2006, it was announced that Portugal would receive a grant from the IRB to help develop their rugby to Tier 2 standard. Few details were released regarding how the money was spent, but it was hoped it would ensure that Portugal's rugby would be able to move onto the next level. In 2006, the inaugural IRB Nations Cup was hosted in Lisbon. The tournament featured Portugal, Russia, Argentina A and Italy A.

### 2007 World Cup

[edit]

Main articles: 2007 Rugby World Cup – Europe qualification and Portugal at the Rugby World Cup

Portugal (in red) playing Italy

Portugal began their qualification campaign for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in 2004, as part of the European Nations Cup Division 1 2004–06 tournament. They won their first match, defeating Ukraine 6–36. They then defeated Georgia 18–14 in their second match, won their third match against the Czech Republic, defeated Russia as well, but then lost to Romania. Portugal then drew with Russia 19-all and lost to Georgia. After a loss to Romania and a win against the Czech Republic, Portugal finished third overall in the standings, and qualified for Round 5.

Round 5 was played in October 2006 as a three match series between Italy, Russia and Portugal. Both Portugal and Russia lost heavily in their matches against Italy, who easily qualified for the finals. Second place came down to the final match of the round in Lisbon. Portugal won the match 26–23 against Russia to make it to Round 6. Round 6 was a home and away series against the Round 5 Pool B winners, Georgia. Portugal lost the first match, but drew 11-all in the second meeting. Georgia went through to the finals, and Portugal entered the repechage round where they defeated Morocco 26–20 on aggregate.

Portugal then faced Uruguay for the last position in the finals. In the first leg of the two-match Repechage series, Portugal won 12–5. In the second game in Montevideo Portugal lost 18–12. On aggregate, Portugal won 24–23, sending them to their first ever World Cup. Having qualified for their first World Cup, several players were subsequently arrested in the ensuing celebrations as a result of an altercation with local police.[citation needed] No charges were laid and the players involved were allowed to leave Uruguay.

In the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Portugal went to Pool C, alongside favourites the All Blacks, Italy, Romania and Scotland. Portugal's highlights included preventing Italy getting a bonus point, scoring a try against the All Blacks, and coming within a try of beating Romania before losing 14–10. They also managed to score in all the four games, unlike Scotland and Romania. The Portugal team were celebrated for their commitment and passion,[citation needed] and for being the only amateur team to make it to the World Cup.

### 2008–present

[edit]

After the World Cup, Portugal faced some problems, including the end of the club and international careers of several key players, like Joaquim Ferreira, Paulo Murinello, Samuel Belo and Rui Cordeiro, and achieved only one win over Czech Republic in the final round of the European Nations Cup tournament, finishing in 5th place, their worst result since 2002.

On 1 November 2008, they lost at home against Canada 21–13 in a friendly game.[1] After a disappointing campaign under Tomaz Morais in the 2006-08 edition of the Six Nations B, that would qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup finals, Murray Henderson was assigned as Specialist Forward coach.

Portugal missed the second presence at the Rugby World Cup finals, after two surprising losses at home with Georgia (10–16) and Romania (9–20), which the "Lobos" had previously defeated 22–21 abroad. Portugal thus missed the 3rd place that would have granted access to the Rugby World Cup repechage.

Tomaz Morais was replaced by New Zealand coach Errol Brain, in October 2010, with a three years contract. He had mixed results, starting with strong performances but ended up with disappointing games. He was replaced by Frederico Sousa in October 2013.

Portugal lost to Germany in the 2015–16 European Nations Cup Division 1A, finishing last, resulting in relegation for the following year.

After Portugal got relegated to the 2016–17 Rugby Europe Trophy, Portugal went on to win the tournament 3 times in a row until the 2018-19 season, when they were granted promotion to the Rugby Europe Championship. Since then, Portugal have been quite successful in the competition. In the 2020-21 season, they finished 3rd place in a league system and in the 2022-23 season, they finished 1st place in a pool with Romania, Poland and Belgium, which led them to a semi-final with Spain, which they won (27-10), going all the way to the final in Badajoz, which they unfortunately lost to Georgia (38-11).

Portugal qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup through the repechage tournament held in Dubai, beating Hong Kong, Kenya and drawing with the USA (16-16) on the last game, winning the repechage tournament on point difference.

They had a successful tournament, coming 4th in Pool C. They drew 18-18 with Georgia and pulled off a shock upset by beating Fiji 24-23. After the tournament, their world ranking was 13th, the highest they had ever been.

### Kit providers

[edit]

Year | Kit manufacturer | Main shirt sponsor

|
|

2005-2008 |  Quebramar |  Caixa Geral de Depósitos
2008-2014 |  Adidas
2014-2016 |  Canterbury
2016-2019 |  Macron
2019-2020 |  CV&A Consulting
2020- |  Banco Santander

## Record

[edit]

### Rugby Europe International Championships

[edit]

ENC champions Season  | Division  | Head Coach  | Captain  |  G |  W |  D |  L |  PF |  PA |  +/− |  Pts |  Pos

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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2000 | Championship |  Evan Crawford |  | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 74 | 100 | –26 | 9 | 5th
2001 | Championship |  Evan Crawford |  | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 77 | 165 | –88 | 7 | 5th
2002 | Championship |  Tomaz Morais | Rohan Hoffmann | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 93 | 130 | –37 | 9 | 4th
2003 | Championship |  Tomaz Morais | Luís Pissarra | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 153 | 85 | +68 | 15 | 1st
2004 | Championship |  Tomaz Morais | Luís Pissarra | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 92 | 95 | -3 | 13 | 2nd
2005 | Championship |  Tomaz Morais | Luís Pissarra | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 101 | 73 | +28 | 13 | 3rd
2006 | Championship |  Tomaz Morais | Vasco Uva | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 92 | 100 | -8 | 10 | 4th
2007 | Championship |  Tomaz Morais | Vasco Uva | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 58 | 96 | –38 | 9 | 4th
2008 | Championship |  Tomaz Morais | João Correia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 116 | 100 | +16 | 7 | 5th
2009 | Championship |  Tomaz Morais | João Correia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 124 | 84 | +40 | 12 | 3rd
2010 | Championship |  Tomaz Morais | João Correia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 131 | 65 | +66 | 9 | 4th
2011 | Championship |  Errol Brain | João Correia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 113 | 98 | +15 | 14 | 3rd
2012 | Championship |  Errol Brain | Gonçalo Uva | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 102 | 132 | –30 | 7 | 5th
2013 | Championship |  Errol Brain | João Correia | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 75 | 96 | –21 | 7 | 4th
2014 | Championship |  Frederico Sousa | João Correia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 70 | 126 | –56 | 5 | 5th
2015 | Championship |  João Luís Pinto | Vasco Uva | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 52 | 100 | –48 | 5 | 5th
2016 | Championship |  Ian Smith | Francisco Pinto Magalhães | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 72 | 210 | –138 | 1 | 6th*
2017 | Trophy |  Martim Aguiar | Francisco Pinto Magalhães | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 179 | 37 | +142 | 25 | 1st
2018 | Trophy |  Martim Aguiar | João Lino | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 168 | 76 | +92 | 23 | 1st
2019 | Trophy |  Martim Aguiar | Salvador Vassalo | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 272 | 31 | +242 | 25 | 1st
2020 | Championship |  Patrice Lagisquet | Tomás Appleton | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 98 | 111 | -13 | 9 | 4th
2021 | Championship |  Patrice Lagisquet | Tomás Appleton | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 196 | 139 | +57 | 14 | 3rd
2022 | Championship |  Patrice Lagisquet | Tomás Appleton | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 139 | 98 | +41 | 12 | 4th
2023 | Championship |  Patrice Lagisquet | Tomás Appleton | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 195 | 88 | +107 | 19 | 2nd
2024 | Championship |  João Mirra | Tomás Appleton | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 152 | 107 | +45 | 15 | 2nd

Notes: Portugal's last place finish in the 2014–16 European Nations Cup First Division resulted in their relegation to 2016–17 Rugby Europe Trophy in the following year.

### World Rugby Nations Cup

[edit]

Year  |  G |  W |  D |  L |  PF |  PA |  +/− |  Pts |  Pos

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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2006 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 62 | 87 | –25 | 3 | 4th
2007 | did not enter
2008
2009
2010
2011 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 89 | –29 | 5 | 6th
2012 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 104 | –67 | 1 | 6th
2013 | did not enter
2014
2015

### World Cup Record

[edit]

Rugby World Cup record |  | Qualification

|
|

Year  | Round  | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Squad  | Head coach  | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA
1987 | Not invited | Not invited
1991 | Did not qualify | n/a  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 18  | 45
1995 | 3rd  | 5  | 2  | 0  | 3  | 85  | 177
1999 | 3rd  | 8  | 3  | 0  | 5  | 181  | 245
2003 | 2nd  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 60  | 60
2007 | Pool Stage  | 4  | 0  | 0  | 4  | 38  | 209  | Squad | T. Morais | 2nd  | 18  | 10  | 2  | 6  | 283  | 360
2011 | Did not qualify | 4th  | 10  | 5  | 1  | 4  | 255  | 149
2015 | 2nd  | 10  | 2  | 1  | 7  | 145  | 222
2019 | 2nd  | 7  | 6  | 0  | 1  | 237  | 65
2023 | Pool Stage  | 4  | 1  | 1  | 2  | 64  | 103  | Squad | P. Lagisquet | 1st  | 13  | 7  | 2  | 4  | 478  | 267
2027 | To be determined | To be determined
Total  | —  | 8  | 1  | 1  | 6  | 102  | 312  | —  | —  | —  | 75  | 37  | 6  | 32  | 1742  | 1590
|  Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place  | Home venue

|

### Overall

[edit]

Men's World Rugby Rankings

* v
* t
* e

Top 30 as of 18 November 2024[2] Rank | Change[i] | Team | Points

|
|
|

1  |  |  South Africa | 092.78
2  | 1 |  Ireland | 090.78
3  | 1 |  New Zealand | 090.09
4  |  |  France | 088.08
5  |  |  Argentina | 085.40
6  |  |  Scotland | 082.70
7  |  |  England | 082.31
8  |  |  Australia | 082.17
9  |  |  Fiji | 080.07
10  |  |  Italy | 078.92
11  |  |  Wales | 074.01
12  |  |  Georgia | 073.85
13  | 1 |  Japan | 072.95
14  | 1 |  Samoa | 072.68
15  | 1 |  United States | 068.90
16  | 1 |  Portugal | 068.82
17  |  |  Spain | 067.10
18  | 1 |  Uruguay | 065.94
19  | 1 |  Tonga | 065.46
20  |  |  Romania | 064.13
21  |  |  Chile | 061.72
22  |  |  Hong Kong | 059.49
23  |  |  Canada | 059.18
24  | 3 |  Netherlands | 058.56
25  | 1 |  Russia | 058.06
26  | 1 |  Namibia | 057.87
27  | 2 |  Zimbabwe | 057.16
28  | 2 |  Brazil | 056.53
29  | 1 |  Belgium | 056.51
30  |  |  Switzerland | 056.04

1. ^ Change from the previous week

Portugal's historical rankings

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

|

See or edit source data.

Source: World Rugby[2]
Graph updated to 11 November 2024

#### Head to head results

[edit]

See also: List of Portugal rugby union test matches

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Portugal national XV at test level up until 16 November 2024:[3][4][5]

Opponent  | Played  | Won  | Lost  | Drawn  | % Won

|
|
|
|
|

Andorra | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Argentina XV | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20%
Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Australia A | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Barbarians | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Belgium | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 64.71%
Brazil | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 66.67%
Canada | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20%
Chile | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Czech Republic | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Czechoslovakia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Denmark | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100%
England Saxons | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Fiji | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33%
France A | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0%
Georgia | 27 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 14.81%
Germany | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 66.67%
Hong Kong | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67%
Italy | 13 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 7.69%
Italy A | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0%
Japan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Japan XV | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Kenya | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67%
Lithuania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Moldova | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Morocco | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 50%
Namibia | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 33.33%
Netherlands | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 76.47%
New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Poland | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 75%
Romania | 29 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 17.24%
Russia | 21 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 28.57%
Scotland | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0%
Scotland A | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Spain | 42 | 13 | 27 | 2 | 30.95%
South Africa | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Soviet Union | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0%
Sweden | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Switzerland | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Tonga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0%
Tunisia | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 33.33%
Ukraine | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80%
United States | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 20%
Uruguay | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 30%
Yugoslavia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.67%
Wales | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0%
West Germany | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33%
Zimbabwe | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50%
Total[n 1] | 330 | 140 | 172 | 18 | 42.42%

## Players

[edit]

### Current squad

[edit]

On 4 November, Portugal named a 42-player squad for their 2024 November international matches against the United States and Scotland.

* Caps Updated: 16 November 2024 (after game v Scotland)

Player  | Position | Date of birth (age)  | Caps  | Club/province

|
|
|
|

Luka Begic | Hooker |  (2001-01-19) 19 January 2001 (age 23) | 9  |  Mont-de-Marsan
Lucas Da Silva | Hooker |  (1997-12-19) 19 December 1997 (age 26) | 0  |  Brive
Santiago Lopes | Hooker |  (2002-02-05) 5 February 2002 (age 22) | 1  |  Cascais
Pedro Vicente | Hooker |  (2002-11-07) 7 November 2002 (age 22) | 8  |  Lusitanos XV
David Costa | Prop |  (1999-07-05) 5 July 1999 (age 25) | 31  |  Lusitanos XV
Abel da Cunha | Prop |  (2002-01-13) 13 January 2002 (age 22) | 7  |  Lusitanos XV
Diogo Hasse Ferreira | Prop |  (1996-10-17) 17 October 1996 (age 28) | 45  |  Dax
António Machado Santos | Prop |  (1998-06-09) 9 June 1998 (age 26) | 8  |  Alcobendas
Márcio Pinheiro | Prop |  | 0  |  Benfica
António Prim | Prop |  (2002-12-07) 7 December 2002 (age 21) | 11  |  Lusitanos XV
Cody Thomas | Prop |  (1996-03-01) 1 March 1996 (age 28) | 3  |  Grenoble
Martim Belo | Lock |  (2000-09-27) 27 September 2000 (age 24) | 13  |  Lusitanos XV
Steevy Cerqueira | Lock |  (1993-08-09) 9 August 1993 (age 31) | 40  |  Orléans
António Rebelo de Andrade | Lock |  (2000-12-12) 12 December 2000 (age 23) | 4  |  Agronomia
José Rebelo de Andrade | Lock |  (1997-11-24) 24 November 1997 (age 26) | 23  |  Agronomia
Duarte Torgal | Lock |  (1997-12-23) 23 December 1997 (age 26) | 25  |  Lusitanos XV
Vasco Baptista | Back row |  (1996-10-26) 26 October 1996 (age 28) | 11  |  CDUL
Frederico Couto | Back row |  (1993-04-24) 24 April 1993 (age 31) | 4  |  Lusitanos XV
André da Cunha | Back row |  (2004-05-19) 19 May 2004 (age 20) | 3  |  Lusitanos XV
João Granate | Back row |  (1997-02-21) 21 February 1997 (age 27) | 40  |  Lusitanos XV
José Madeira | Back row |  (2001-03-19) 19 March 2001 (age 23) | 40  |  Grenoble
Nicolas Martins | Back row |  (1999-01-18) 18 January 1999 (age 25) | 19  |  Montpellier
Diego Pinheiro Ruiz | Back row |  (2003-09-01) 1 September 2003 (age 21) | 6  |  Massy
Hugo Camacho | Scrum-half |  (2004-05-27) 27 May 2004 (age 20) | 8  |  Béziers
António Campos | Scrum-half |  (2002-02-22) 22 February 2002 (age 22) | 2  |  Lusitanos XV
Enzo Lopes | Scrum-half |  | 0  |  Bassin D’Arcachon
Pedro Lucas | Scrum-half |  (2000-10-16) 16 October 2000 (age 24) | 22  |  Lusitanos XV
Samuel Marques | Scrum-half |  (1988-12-08) 8 December 1988 (age 35) | 26  |  Béziers
Hugo Aubry | Fly-half |  (2003-01-28) 28 January 2003 (age 21) | 7  |  Béziers
Domingos Cabral | Fly-half |  (2001-08-16) 16 August 2001 (age 23) | 4  |  Lusitanos XV
Manuel Vareiro | Fly-half |  (2005-01-14) 14 January 2005 (age 19) | 2  |  Lusitanos XV
Tomás Appleton (c) | Centre |  (1993-07-29) 29 July 1993 (age 31) | 74  |  Lusitanos XV
Gabriel Aviragnet | Centre |  (2003-09-25) 25 September 2003 (age 21) | 0  |  Albi
Vasco Leite | Centre |  | 0  |  Lusitanos XV
José Lima | Centre |  (1992-04-24) 24 April 1992 (age 32) | 65  |  Lusitanos XV
Fábio Conceição | Wing |  (1996-08-02) 2 August 1996 (age 28) | 2  |  CDUL
Lucas Martins | Wing |  (2003-01-16) 16 January 2003 (age 21) | 5  |  Agen
José Paiva dos Santos | Wing |  (2001-04-03) 3 April 2001 (age 23) | 7  |  Lusitanos XV
Sebastião Stilwell | Wing |  | 0  |  CDUL
Raffaele Storti | Wing |  (2000-12-19) 19 December 2000 (age 23) | 29  |  Stade Français
Simão Bento | Fullback |  (2001-06-21) 21 June 2001 (age 23) | 14  |  Mont-de-Marsan
Manuel Cardoso Pinto | Fullback |  (1998-04-07) 7 April 1998 (age 26) | 40  |  Agronomia

### Individual all-time records

[edit]

Gonçalo Uva and Vasco Uva are the most capped players for Portugal (both 101) and Gonçalo Uva also has the record for most matches in the starting XV (95).[6][7] The highest scorer for Portugal is Gonçalo Malheiro, with 279 points.[8] Malheiro is also the player with the most drop goals (12) and penalty goals (51).[9][10] Pedro Leal holds the record for most conversions (45).[11] Rodrigo Marta with 30 tries is the player with the most tries scored.[12] Duarte Pinto has the record for most matches as a substitute, with 23 substitutions.[13] Bernardo Duarte holds the record for most matches as a substitute, without ever playing in the starting XV (14).[13]

## Coaches

[edit]

### Current coaching staff

[edit]

The coaching staff of the Portuguese national team in the 2024/25 season:

Name  | Nationality  | Role

|
|

Simon Mannix |  NZL | Head coach
Olivier Azam |  FRA | Forwards Coach
João Mirra |  POR | Backs Coach
Olivier Rieg |  FRA | Strength & conditioning coach
Elliot Corcoran |  IRE | Video analyst
José Paixão |  POR | Video analyst
António Cruz Ferreira |  POR | Team doctor
José Carlos Rodrigues |  POR | Physiotherapist
Rodrigo Pais |  POR | Physiotherapist
Mónica Neves |  POR | Nutricionist
Nuno Salvador |  POR | Team Manager
Fernando Murteira |  POR | Team Manager

### Former coaches

[edit]

Name  | Years  | Tests  | Won  | Drew  | Lost  | Win percentage  | Source

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Pedro Lynce | 1976–1983  | 10  | 6  | 0  | 4  | 60%  | [14]
João Paulo Bessa | 1983–1986  | 17  | 9  | 1  | 7  | 52.94%  | [15]
Vasco Lynce | 1986–1989  | 15  | 4  | 1  | 10  | 26.67%  | [16]
Olegário Borges | 1989–1993  | 14  | 7  | 0  | 7  | 50%  | [17]
Andrew Cushing | 1993–1994  | 12  | 2  | 0  | 10  | 16.67%  | [18]
João Paulo Bessa | 1994–1999  | 25  | 12  | 1  | 12  | 48%  | [19]
Evan Crawford | 1999–2001  | 11  | 3  | 0  | 8  | 27.27%  | [20]
Tomaz Morais | 2001–2010  | 76  | 33  | 4  | 39  | 43.42%  | [21]
Errol Brain | 2010–2013  | 26  | 9  | 1  | 16  | 34.62%  | [22]
Frederico Sousa | 2013–2014  | 8  | 2  | 0  | 6  | 25%  | [23]
João Luís Pinto | 2014–2015  | 7  | 2  | 0  | 5  | 28.57%  | [24]
Olivier Baragnon | 2015–2016  | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 33.33%  | [25]
Ian Smith | 2016  | 5  | 0  | 0  | 5  | 0%  | [26]
Martim Aguiar | 2016–2019  | 23  | 18  | 0  | 5  | 78.26%  | [27]
Patrice Lagisquet | 2019–2023  | 37  | 18  | 3  | 16  | 48.65%  | [28]
Sébastien Bertrank | 2023  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0%  | [29]
João Mirra (interim)  | 2024  | 5  | 3  | 0  | 2  | 60%  | [30]
Simon Mannix | 2024–  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 50%  |

Last updated: 20 July 2024.

## Player records

[edit]

### Most caps

[edit]

#  | Player  | Pos  | Span  | Mat  | Pts  | Tries

|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Gonçalo Uva | Lock | 2004–2018 | 101 | 50 | 10
Vasco Uva | Number 8 | 2003–2016 | 101 | 65 | 13
3 | Joaquim Ferreira | Prop | 1993–2007 | 87 | 15 | 3
4 | António Aguilar | Wing | 1999–2014 | 83 | 115 | 23
5 | João Correia | Hooker | 2003–2014 | 81 | 20 | 4
6 | Pedro Leal | Scrum-Half | 2005–2017 | 77 | 265 | 5
7 | Tomás Appleton | Centre | 2014- | 75 | 80 | 16
8 | Diogo Mateus | Centre | 2000–2010 | 74 | 65 | 13
9 | Luís Pissarra | Scrum-half | 1996–2007 | 72 | 0 | 0
10 | José Lima | Centre | 2014- | 65 | 81 | 14
Miguel Portela | Centre | 1996-2010 | 65 | 38 | 7

Last updated: Scotland vs Portugal, 16 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

### Most tries

[edit]

#  | Player  | Pos  | Span  | Mat  | Pts  | Tries

|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Rodrigo Marta | Wing | 2018- | 39 | 155 | 31
2 | António Aguilar | Wing | 1999–2014 | 83 | 115 | 23
Gonçalo Foro | Wing | 2007–2017 | 62 | 115 | 23
4 | Raffaele Storti | Wing | 2019- | 27 | 90 | 18
5 | Tomás Appleton | Centre | 2014- | 75 | 80 | 16
6 | Manuel Cardoso Pinto | Fullback | 2017- | 39 | 75 | 15
7 | José Lima | Centre | 2010- | 65 | 81 | 14
8 | Nuno Durão | Wing | 1983-1995 | 43 | 94 | 13
Diogo Mateus | Centre | 2000–2010 | 74 | 65 | 13
Vasco Uva | Number 8 | 2003–2016 | 101 | 65 | 13

Last updated: Scotland vs Portugal, 16 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

### Most points

[edit]

#  | Player  | Pos  | Span  | Mat  | Pts  | Tries  | Conv  | Pens  | Drop

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Gonçalo Malheiro | Fly-half | 1998–2007 | 41 | 279 | 7 | 23 | 57 | 5
2 | João Queimado | Fly-half | 1984-1994 | 48 | 269 | 5 | 23 | 55 | 11
3 | Pedro Leal | Fullback | 2005–2017 | 77 | 265 | 5 | 42 | 49 | 3
4 | Samuel Marques | Scrum-Half | 2012- | 26 | 244 | 4 | 64 | 32 | 0
5 | Pedro Cabral | Fly-half | 2006–2011 | 36 | 183 | 2 | 25 | 39 | 2
6 | Rodrigo Marta | Wing | 2018- | 39 | 155 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0
7 | Nuno Sousa Guedes | Fullback | 2016- | 39 | 154 | 7 | 37 | 15 | 0
8 | Pedro Bettencourt | Centre | 2013-2024 | 35 | 125 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 0
9 | José Maria Vilar Gomes | Fullback | 1989–2000 | 33 | 120 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 1
10 | António Aguilar | Wing | 1999–2014 | 83 | 115 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0
Gonçalo Foro | Wing | 2007-2017 | 15 | 115 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0

Last updated: Scotland vs Portugal, 16 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

### Most points in a match

[edit]

#  | Player  | Pos  | Pts  | Tries  | Conv  | Pens  | Drop  | Opposition  | Venue  | Date

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Thierry Teixeira | Fly-half | 30 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |  Georgia |  Lisbon | 08/02/2000
2 | José Rodrigues | Fly-Half | 26 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |  Switzerland |  Setúbal | 24/02/2018
3 | Gonçalo Malheiro | Fullback | 25 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |  Spain |  Coimbra | 23/03/2003
Jorge Abecasis | Fly-half | 25 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |  Poland |  Setúbal | 16/02/2019
Raffaele Storti | Wing | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Netherlands |  Amsterdam | 10/07/2021
6 | Gonçalo Malheiro | Fullback | 24 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |  Czech Republic |  Lisbon | 08/03/2003
7 | Pedro Leal | Fly-half | 23 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |  Chile |  Santiago | 17/11/2012
8 | Pedro Cabral | Fullback | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 |  Czech Republic |  Lisbon | 16/02/2008
Manuel Marta | Fullback | 22 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |  Czech Republic |  Caldas da Rainha | 23/03/2019
10 | Gonçalo Malheiro | Fly-half | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Barbarians |  Lisbon | 10/06/2004

Last updated: Scotland vs Portugal, 16 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

### Most tries in a match

[edit]

#  | Player  | Pos  | Pts  | Tries  | Conv  | Pens  | Drop  | Opposition  | Venue  | Date

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Raffaele Storti | Wing | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Netherlands |  Amsterdam | 10/07/2021
2 | Rodrigo Marta | Wing | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Poland |  Warsaw | 11/02/2023
Vincent Pinto | Wing | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Poland |  Warsaw | 11/02/2023
4 | Nuno Garvão | Wing | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Spain |  Ibiza | 21/03/2004
Gonçalo Malheiro | Fly-half | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Barbarians |  Lisbon | 10/06/2004
Gonçalo Foro | Wing | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Germany |  Heusenstamm | 27/02/2010
Caetano Castelo Branco | Wing | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Czech Republic |  Caldas da Rainha | 23/03/2019
Antonio Vidinha | Centre | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Czech Republic |  Caldas da Rainha | 23/03/2019
Rodrigo Marta | Wing | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Netherlands |  Amsterdam | 10/07/2021
Mike Tadjer | Hooker | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Kenya |  Dubai | 12/11/2022
Hugo Camacho | Scrum-half | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |  Poland |  Lisbon | 10/02/2024

Last updated: Scotland vs Portugal, 16 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

### Most matches as captain

[edit]

#  | Player  | Pos  | Span  | Mat  | Won  | Lost  | Draw  | %  | Pts  | Tries  | Conv  | Pens  | Drop

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1. | Tomás Appleton | Centre | 2019–present | 40 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 50% | 50 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0
2. | João Correia | Hooker | 2008–2014 | 35 | 10 | 23 | 2 | 28.57% | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0
3. | Vasco Uva | Flanker | 2006–2015 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 25% | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0
4. | Francisco Pinto Magalhães | Scrum-half | 2015–2017 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 50% | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0
5. | Luís Pissarra | Scrum-half | 2003–2005 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 90% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0

Last updated: Scotland vs Portugal, 16 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Only includes test matches in which the Portuguese Rugby Federation awarded caps to the players involved, according to their official website.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Pritchard seals win".
2. ^ a b "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
3. ^ International Rugby Union Statistics - Statistics for Portugal - Teams Played
4. ^ a b "Federação Portuguesa de Rugby - Games played". Archived from the original on 2012-11-20. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
5. ^ "Statsguru / Team analysis / Portugal / Test matches". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
6. ^ "Most matches". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
7. ^ "Most starting matches". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
8. ^ "Most points". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
9. ^ "Most drop goals". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
10. ^ "Most penalty goals". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
11. ^ "Most conversions". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
12. ^ "Most tries". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
13. ^ a b "Most substitutions". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
14. ^ https://maodemestrebiblos.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/n19.pdf [bare URL PDF]
15. ^ https://xvcontraxv.blogspot.com/ [bare URL]
16. ^ "Xv Contra Xv: Rugby No Colégio Militar". 20 April 2020.
17. ^ "Olgário Borges".
18. ^ https://maodemestrebiblos.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/n1-abr-93.pdf [bare URL PDF]
19. ^ https://xvcontraxv.blogspot.com/ [bare URL]
20. ^ "Crawford to coach Portugal".
21. ^ https://tomazmorais.pt/ [bare URL]
22. ^ "Neozelandês Errol Brain é novo técnico dos "Lobos"".
23. ^ "Frederico Sousa é o novo selecionador nacional".
24. ^ "João Luís Pinto é o novo selecionador nacional".
25. ^ "Olivier Baragnon apresentado como novo selecionador de râguebi".
26. ^ "Ian Smith é o novo selecionador português de XV".
27. ^ "Martim Aguiar é o novo selecionador nacional".
28. ^ "Patrice Lagisquet apresentado como novo seleccionador nacional". 5 July 2019.
29. ^ "Sébastien Bertrank é o novo seleccionador de râguebi de Portugal". 12 October 2023.
30. ^ "Daniel Hourcade irá orientar Portugal no Rugby Europe Championship 2024".

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portugal national rugby union team.

* Federação Portuguesa de Rugby Official Site (in Portuguese)
* World Cup Preview
* Portugal on RugbyData.com

Awards

Preceded by

None

|  Portuguese Team of the Year
2007  | Succeeded by

Portugal national rugby sevens team

* v
* t
* e

Portugal squad – 2007 Rugby World Cup

Forwards|

* Cordeiro
* Correia
* Coutinho
* D'Orey
* Ferreira (vc)
* Figueiredo
* Girão
* Murré
* Murinello
* Palha
* Penalva
* Severino
* Silva
* Spachuck
* G. Uva
* J. Uva
* V. Uva (c)

Backs|

* Aguilar
* Cabral
* Carvalho
* Gama
* Leal
* Malheiro
* Da. Mateus
* Di. Mateus
* D. C. Pinto
* J. Pinto
* Pissarra
* Portela
* Sousa

Coach: Morais

* v
* t
* e

Portugal squad – 2023 Rugby World Cup

Forwards|

* Alves
* M. Bello
* Bruno
* Campergue
* Cerqueira
* Costa
* De Freitas
* Diniz
* Fernandes
* Hasse Ferreira
* Granate
* Machado Santos
* Madeira
* Martins
* Picão
* Simões
* Tadjer
* Torgal
* Wallis

Backs|

* Appleton (c)
* J. Bello
* Bento
* Bettencourt
* Cardoso Pinto
* Lima
* Lucas
* Marques
* Marta
* Moura
* Pinto
* Portela
* Sousa Guedes
* Storti

Head coach: Patrice Lagisquet

* v
* t
* e

Rugby union in Portugal

Governing body|

* Portuguese Rugby Federation

National teams|

| Men's|

* Portugal
* Sevens
* U-21
* U-20
* U-19
* Universitária

|

Women's|

* Portugal
* Sevens

Competitions|

| Men's|

* Campeonato Português de Rugby
* I Divisão
* II Divisão
* Taça de Portugal
* Supertaça de Portugal
* Taça Ibérica

|

Women's|

* Campeonato Feminino
* Taça de Portugal Feminina
* Supertaça de Portugal Feminina

* v
* t
* e

International men's rugby union teams

Tier 1 teams|

* Argentina
* Australia
* England
* France
* Ireland
* Italy
* Japan
* New Zealand
* Scotland
* South Africa
* Wales

Emerging teams with
Rugby World Cup participation|

* Canada
* Chile
* Fiji
* Georgia
* Ivory Coast
* Namibia
* Portugal
* Romania
* Samoa
* Spain
* Tonga
* United States
* Uruguay
* Zimbabwe

Other Emerging teams
(World Rugby members)|

* Algeria
* American Samoa
* Andorra
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belgium
* Bermuda
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Botswana
* Brazil
* British Virgin Islands
* Brunei
* Bulgaria
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cayman Islands
* China
* Chinese Taipei
* Colombia
* Cook Islands
* Costa Rica
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Eswatini
* Finland
* Germany
* Ghana
* Guam
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Hong Kong
* Hungary
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Israel
* Jamaica
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Kenya
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Latvia
* Lebanon
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Madagascar
* Malaysia
* Mali
* Malta
* Mauritius
* Mexico
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Mongolia
* Morocco
* Nepal
* Netherlands
* Nigeria
* Niue
* Norway
* Pakistan
* Panama
* Papua New Guinea
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Philippines
* Poland
* Qatar
* Rwanda
* Senegal
* Serbia
* Singapore
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Solomon Islands
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* St Lucia
* St Vincent and the Grenadines
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Tanzania
* Thailand
* Togo
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Tunisia
* Turkey
* Uganda
* Ukraine
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vanuatu
* Venezuela
* Zambia

Teams not affiliated
to World Rugby|

| Rugby Africa|

* Benin
* Chad
* Congo
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Egypt
* Libya
* Niger
* Seychelles

|

Asia Rugby|

* Bangladesh
* Cambodia
* Macau

Rugby Europe|

* Belarus
* Estonia
* Iceland
* Kosovo
* Liechtenstein
* Montenegro
* San Marino

Rugby Americas North|

* Curaçao
* Dominican Republic
* Guadeloupe
* Martinique
* Turks and Caicos Islands

Oceania Rugby|

* French Polynesia (Tahiti)
* Nauru
* New Caledonia
* Wallis and Futuna

Sudamerica Rugby|

* Ecuador
* El Salvador

Combination teams|

* African Leopards
* British & Irish Lions
* Pacific Islanders
* South American XV

Teams with affiliation suspended
or without affiliation|

* Armenia
* Bahrain
* Basque Country
* Catalonia
* Gibraltar
* Greece
* Mauritania
* Russia

Teams affiliated to the FFR|

* Mayotte
* Réunion

Defunct teams|

* Arabian Gulf
* Commonwealth of Independent States
* Czechoslovakia
* East Africa
* East Germany
* Nyasaland (Malawi)
* Serbia and Montenegro
* Soviet Union
* West Germany
* Yugoslavia

* v
* t
* e

World Rugby Nations Cup

2019 teams|

* Argentina XV
* Namibia
* Russia
* Uruguay

Former teams|

* Emerging Ireland (2014)
* Emerging Springboks (2007, 2008)
* France A (2009)
* Georgia (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
* Portugal (2006, 2011, 2012)
* Scotland A (2009, 2010)
* Russia (2014)
* South African Kings (2011)

Seasons|

* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

Winners|

* 2006 Argentina A
* 2007 Emerging Springboks
* 2008 Emerging Springboks
* 2009 Scotland A
* 2010 Namibia
* 2011 South African Kings
* 2012 Romania
* 2013 Romania
* 2014 Emerging Ireland
* 2015 Romania
* 2016 Romania
* 2017 Uruguay
* 2018 Uruguay
* 2019 Uruguay

* v
* t
* e

National sports teams of Portugal

* A1 GP
* Badminton
* Baseball
* Basketball
* M
* M U-20
* M U-19
* M U-16
* W
* W U-20
* W U-18
* W U-17
* Beach handball
* M
* W
* Beach soccer
* Cricket
* Field hockey
* M
* W
* Football
* M
* M U-23
* M U-21
* M U-20
* M U-19
* M U-18
* M U-17
* M U-16
* M U-15
* W
* W U-19
* W U-17
* CP
* Futsal
* M
* W
* Handball
* M
* M-J
* M-Y
* W
* W-J
* Ice hockey
* Korfball
* Roller hockey
* M
* W
* Rugby league
* Rugby union
* M
* M U-20
* W
* M7
* W7
* Table tennis
* Tennis
* M
* W
* Volleyball
* M
* M U-21
* M U-19
* W
* W U-21
* W U-19
* Water polo
* Wheelchair handball

* Olympics
* Paralympics
* Deaflympics
* European Games
* Lusofonia Games

*[Pld]: Games Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[PF]: Points For
*[PA]: Points Against
*[Pos]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template