Patrice Lagisquet knew how to round up the Portuguese Wolves

Published on : 15/04/2023 – 10:00

Two days before the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar on November 20, 2022, the prowess of Portugal’s rugby players struggled to find a place in one of the three local sports dailies. The Record newspaper thus contented itself the next day with a discreet “The Wolves are back in the Rugby World Cup” relegated to the bottom of its first page. The information was not trivial, however, since 16 years after their first participation in a Rugby World Cup, they had again just won their ticket for this competition which will take place from September 8 to October 28 in France.

The “Lobos” had won the day before in Dubai a qualifying tournament bringing together four teams (United States, Kenya, Hong Kong and Portugal) at the end of which was awarded the twentieth and last place of the World Cup-2023. A competition that the Portuguese won on the difference of points scored, after a last draw against the United States (16-16) snatched beyond regulation time on a penalty kick.

That crucial equalizer was the work of Portugal scrum-half Samuel Marques. Aged 34, he made his first selections for Portugal in 2012, joining many players born in France to parents of Portuguese nationality. “It was a unique opportunity to get to know the international level and discover another culture”, explains this player from US Carcassonne, who is about to experience a “great moment of pleasure” at the next World Cup.

Samuel Marques savors this qualification all the more as he had chosen to stay away from the Portuguese selection for eight years, favoring his club career. His return in 2021 is explained by the presence at the head of the Lobos of a great figure in French rugby, Patrice Lagisquet. “He contributed to the Portuguese selection becoming more professional. His arrival changed everything,” asserts Samuel Marques.

A promising generation

The former player of the XV of France, who has 46 selections for the Blues and notably played in the first World Cup final in 1987, himself offered his services to the Portuguese Federation in the summer of 2019. He put forward his experience as a coach of Olympic Biarritz – with three titles of champion of France at stake – and that acquired within the management of the Blues during the 2015 World Cup. “I wanted to be the coach of a national team and I said to myself that this post was compatible with my professional and associative activities”, explains Patrice Lagisquet, who did not have any particular links with Portugal and who often uses English to communicate with the group. .

He attacked this mission with a staff made up of French coaches and Portuguese technicians in charge of the local under-20 team. “There was a generation of very talented players and we knew there was potential,” explains Patrice Lagisquet, mentioning the nugget Rodrigo Marta. At only 23 years old, this winger licensed to US Dax already has the record for tries scored in the Portuguese jersey. He also worked for the national rugby sevens team and the Lusitanos franchise, which plays in the Rugby Europe Super Cup, a competition created to provide a professional and international environment for the small nations of Europe.

Patrice Lagisquet, 60, is delighted to be able to rely on “the speed and creativity” of the Portuguese three-quarters which he combines with the experience of players who have been playing for many years in French professional rugby. This is particularly the case within the package of forwards, with hooker Mike Tadjer or second-row Steevy Cerqueira. “We have made good progress in terms of power. We saw it against Georgia, we were able to hold out for halftime,” analyzes the Lobos coach.

Reunion with Georgia

The match Lagisquet is referring to was the final of the “6 Nations Tournament B”, whose official name is the Rugby Europe Championship, a kind of second division of European rugby. Led by a single point at half-time (11-12), Portugal had cracked during the second period of this match played on March 19 and lost 11 to 38 against the formidable Georgia, who thus signed his sixth consecutive coronation in this competition.

These two teams will face each other again at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, in the group stage. Currently ranked 16th in the world, Portugal will first play against Wales (9th), Georgia (11th), Australia (7th) and finally Fiji (13th). The challenge promises to be very high for Portugal, which had suffered 4 defeats during the 2007 edition, including a very wide one against New Zealand (108-13). On the other hand, he lost only 4 points against Romania (10-14) “We want to offer good rugby. This team has a lot to learn and the young players will acquire valuable experience,” said Patrice Lagisquet.

Unlike the other participating nations, the Portugal team had a shorter planning phase as they were the last to qualify for the World Cup. She is struggling to find seasoned opponents available for friendly matches this summer. His preparation will however last as long as that of the other selections in the running, with in particular a 15-day internship in Font-Romeu, in the French Pyrenees.

The trips of the Portuguese selection, which will play in Nice, Toulouse (twice) and Saint-Étienne, should give rise to beautiful scenes of jubilation due to the importance of the Portuguese community in France. The time of a World Cup, the national rugby team will try to convert it to the oval ball. And the Portuguese Rugby Federation hopes to take advantage of the services of the selection led by captain Tomas Appleton to help rugby take off in Portugal.