Portugal Secures Historic First-Ever Point After Draw With Georgia At Rugby World Cup 2023 In France

THE Portuguese rugby team achieved its first-ever point in a Rugby World Cup when it drew 18-18 with Georgia on Saturday, September 23.

Fim do jo em Toulouse!!!!🐺🇵🇹#Lobos #espiritolobo #SomosLobos pic.twitter.com/9rhgZvqj31

— Portugal Rugby (@PortugalRugby) September 23, 2023

A thrilling 18-18 result in the Toulouse Stadium, in France, left Portugal bottom of Group C. In the last minute of the game, Nuno Sousa Guedes had the opportunity to give Portugal a first victory but the full-back was unable to convert the penalty.

It took Akaki Tabutsadze, Georgia’s record try-scorer only 75 seconds to charge across the Portuguese line to bag his 30th try in 33 international matches. Tedo Abzhandadze then added a conversion and two penalties to give the Georgians a 13-0 lead.

Raffaele Storti then looked like he would become a national hero after the Portugal winger scored two superb solo tries to put his side in front in the dying stages. Their elation was short-lived however when the TV match official awarded Georgia a try in the 79th minute.

Augusto Santos Silva was happy with the team’s performance

Speaking after the match, Augusto Santos Silva, the President of the National Assembly, highlighted the good performance of the Portuguese team. ‘It’s another milestone on the path we are taking, which now places us as the 26th team in the world’, reported sicnoticias.pt.

He believed that Portugal produced a ‘lesson in playing well’, especially in the second half. ‘I saw a completely full stadium, the vast majority of whom were Portuguese. I saw our anthem being sung both at the beginning and many times during the game’, he added. Silva said he was proud of the result and stressed: ‘It was because of one reason that victory eluded us’.

Portugal qualified for the 2023 rugby finals in France for only the second time in history. They were drawn into a group that included some real heavyweights from the sport, going up against the likes of Australia, Wales and Fiji.

The Portuguese team debuted in the competition a week ago, with a 28-8 defeat against Wales. Previously, the nation had only participated in one World Cup, back in 2007. This year’s tournament in France runs until October 28.