Lagisquet after Portugal’s World Cup draw against Georgia: “They set the pitch on fire”

Patrice Lagisquet, Portugal coach after the draw (18-18), synonymous with first points in the World Cup for his selection: “Do we no longer have the impression of having done or narrowly missed something history? A bit of both, when we look back on our first half it’s miraculous to get a draw. In the second, we saw that we had what it took to win this match. This team is still young, it still needs to build its experience, its experience. We want to forgive them for all their mistakes, forgetting passes or bad kicking plays, especially with the generosity they showed in defending the line and the way they set fire to the field in the second. »

“Maybe the players were overtaken by emotion”

Patrice Lagisquet on the missed start of the match by the Portuguese

“Maybe the players were overtaken by emotion. When they heard this stadium vibrating, which supported them. I thought she was a little exhausted after the Wales game, but apparently not. When we got off the bus, there were supporters, this clamor, it touched me too. Obviously it could have played a role, because these are players who do not have the experience of these matches. Considering how feverish we were in the kicking game, in touch, sectors which had been rather good, I think that it played a role. »

Levan Maisashvili, Georgia coach: “In the first half, we had a lot of opportunities to score that we didn’t take advantage of, I’m thinking of his 4 lost balls near their try line. And secondly we lost everything, we gave the Portuguese opportunities to come back. Portugal embraced the momentum, we missed it. They scored quickly and when you run behind the score you make a lot of mistakes. It’s rugby.”