Portugal's part-timers out to make an impression at the Rugby World Cup
ON A MISSION: Patrice Lagisquet, Head Coach of Portugal, poses for a portrait. Picture: Alex Livesey - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images
PORTUGAL'S group of part-times and amateurs can't wait to mix it with the best teams in the world. Their captain, the very accomplished centre Tomas Appleton, is a bit of a throw-back to the early years of the competition when every team turned up with 'a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker' in their squad. He is a dentist who is studying to become a doctor. The difference between him and the captain of the Portuguese football team, Cristiano Ronaldo, couldn't be more stark. In 2023, Ronaldo once again became the world's highest-paid athlete following his move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, with the 38-year-old earning £108.7m (€125m) over the year. His contract with Al Nassr is reportedly worth more than £176.5m (€205m) per year.
The 54-times capped Appleton has had to take three months off work to prepare for the World Cup with no pay. The cost is immaterial to him compared to the joy of playing for his country at a World Cup.
"We just want to make the people we love proud of our efforts. If I can go to sleep at night after every World Cup game knowing we have done that, then I'll be happy," said the 30-year-old with more than 50 caps for his country.
"I'm a dentist who is just finishing my medical degree. We started training on 26 June, and I blocked my work schedule then. I'll be losing money by going to the World Cup. I was 15 the last time we qualified for the World Cup and I can remember watching the team then. At that time, they were the biggest idols that we had as rugby kids.
"We got a lot of inspiration from that generation, and we are so proud we can get the chance to do it all again. I started to play when I was 6-years-old and we all realise that in order to grow the rugby community in Portugal we need to produce a new group of idols.
"The people of Portugal want to see a team that performs well and wins - that's how to inspire young players to take up the game."
Their seven-try, 46-20 victory over the USA in Faro earlier this month was a great way for the team to give their fans a taste of what they hope is going to come in France. The Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, even turned up to watch his first rugby match and went into the dressing after the game to address his team.
"When we manage to get quality ball it is the way we want to play. The president is really confident and if the Portuguese people don't have trust in us, then we won't get anywhere," said Appleton.
“It is really important for them to have our back. Having the support from the president and our people is very important and makes us very happy. We just want to enjoy ourselves and show the world what we are capable of. We know we aren't the favourites in our Pool, we struggled just to get to the World Cup, but now we want to show what we can do - we want to surprise the world.”
While Appleton is very much in charge on the pitch, off it the former French wing, Patrice Lagisquet, has been masterminding the process that had led Os Lobos to this position over the past four years.
The ‘Bayonne Express’ is now stranger to the World Cup having played in the first final in Auckland in 1987, played in the second tournament four years later and then been the backs coach in the French side in 2015.
The scorer of 20 tries in his 46 caps for France, he became a very successful coach at Biarritz Olympique after hanging up his boots. In 11 seasons at the Basque club he led them to three Top 14 titles, a French cup win and to the final of the Heineken Cup against Munster in 2006.
In 2008, he left the club to concentrate on his work in insurance, although he did return to join Philippe Saint-Andre's French coach team as backs and defensive specialist between 2012-15.
“I got involved with Portugal because of a couple of friends who I had played and worked with in rugby. They didn't know each other at the time and the day they met they decided I had to be become a head coach again,” said Lagisquet.
“Herve Durquett was forwards coach with me at Biarritz and Olivier Rieg played with me at Bayonne and became the S&C coach at two World Cups with Romania. They found that Portugal were having a new rugby president and they needed a new coach. They sent my Wiki page to the Portuguese federation and after that they gave me the phone number of the president and told me I had to ring him.
“So, I called him, and I don't think he understood my name or who I was. He gave me his email and asked me to send him my cv.
“About nine days later I did that and the day after he called me and said I had to come to Portugal immediately. I said I would come and that’s how it all began.
“I'm here because of them and I wanted to have them both with me at the World Cup. Herve is now coaching at Dax having been with us right through qualification, but Olivier is back for the tournament.
“What we discovered when we arrived four years ago was just a group of young, enthusiastic players who could do some good things. But they weren’t organised at the set-pieces.
“They had some qualities and strengths, but many weaknesses. We had to build a lot of things, but it has been fantastic to live this experience. To be going to the World Cup now is fantastic.”
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