A BOLA – Portugal face Canada in a private game (Rugby)
Portugal, 19th in the rugby world ranking, will host this Saturday in Canada, 23rd, at Jamor (3pm), in the first international meeting of the November window. The match precedes the debut of the wolves in official matches against Japan, number 10 in the World Rugby hierarchy, on the 13th, at Coimbra’s municipal stadium.
«The Portuguese players already have the ability to play at the level of Canada», the team that has participated in all the world championships (9) and with which the XV national team has never won in the four games played. «Portugal has to win, we don’t see another possibility», underlined Patrice Lagisquet, coach, in a preview press conference.
“Over the last two years, the group has become very confident and we have shown that we have the capacity to play at the highest level,” added captain Tomás Appleton.
Kingsley Jones, trainer from Canada, was full of praise for the wolves. “I’m hoping for a quick and open game, I’ve been impressed with Portugal in the last few games,” he said.
However, Coimbra hosts from Sunday until the 13th, the date of Portugal-Japan in seniors, the European U-20 championship. Portugal defends the title (three-time champions) and seeks to guarantee, for the fourth time, the presence in the ‘B’ World Cup, a competition to be held in 2022. Candidate Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Germany and Czech Republic are the nations present.