″ It is one of the best shop windows ″
This weekend, the event brings together almost 1500 participants at the Lisbon University Stadium, being a moment of recovery from the loss of normality and the search for new values, as shared by O JOGO João Uva, national under-18 coach
The first major sporting event since the return of collective training modalities, the Portuguese Rugby Youth Festival takes place this Saturday and Sunday at the Estádio Universitário de Lisboa, bringing together 50 teams in five levels (men and women), for a total of almost 1500 participants.
Request the event “it is one of the most emblematic of rugby training in Portugal and Europe”, João Uva, national under-18 coach, points out that “it is important to return to normality, especially in training sport”. “There was a whole generation that was lost to the sport as a result of the pandemic. There are things that cannot be recovered, there is no time to recover, but it is a very interesting opportunity for young people, as some of them competed very little or nothing. in the last two years, “completed the helmsman of the” wolves “who were recently silver in the European Championship of the echelon.
Some of the athletes involved in this result are saying farewell to the Portuguese Rugby Youth Festival this year. “It’s a great time to attract talent and new potential. In past editions, identify players with potential. It’s one of the best showcases,” said the coach and former Portuguese international.
A silver that gives encouragement
It was two weeks ago that the Under-18 National Team celebrated second place at the European Championship of the category, held in Kaliningrad, Russia. Quinas team only gave way in the final against Georgia, by 22-0.
For Uva, who praises the work of the clubs, it was “an excellent result, considering that the group only started training at the end of August”. “They behaved very well and responded in a spectacular way. We hope that the players who were at the Europeans came out better, more friends with each other, more rugby ambassadors and more passionate about the game in the sense of ambitioning the senior team,” said the selector, before indicating the way forward.
“The youth categories in Portugal, namely youth and youth, have always had a lot of talent. When the physical part doesn’t overlap in the game, we compete with the best. After the other countries, they end up with different conditions. trying to do is to cement a more technical game plan, looking for spaces and avoiding confrontation. This is already happening a little in the senior team.