There is more quality and competitive ability, but it is necessary to bring the same determination and passion that the Wolves brought to France in 2007, in the last rugby world cup in which the Portuguese team was present. The words are from those who led Portugal in the last World Cup and from those who know Portuguese rugby perfectly. The Rugby World Cup begins this Friday, in France, and features Portugal for the second time in history. In 2007, the last time he participated in Portugal, Tomaz Morais was national coach and, in an interview with TSFexplains that the results could be better this year.
“Due to the quality of the team, the preparation carried out and the results obtained, expectations are high. I hope to see the heart of Portugal in the World Cup, that is, to play with passion. And also with what has characterized Portuguese rugby. throughout its history, which is a dynamic, open game that seeks spaces and, above all, that attracts the Portuguese to television,” Tomaz Morais begins by saying.
Portugal is included in Group C and debuts against Wales on September 16. Then they will play against Georgia, on the 23rd, with Australia, on October 1 and with the Fiji Islands, on the 8th. Tomaz Morais has no doubts that “the matches promise to be more balanced. 16 years have passed and, now ” , a large part of the team’s players are professionals and work at a high competitive pace. Most of them play in the French championship, which is exactly competitive. The players are prepared in a different way,” he explains to TSF.
The former national coach is confident that Portugal will have a good World Cup, but to do so he understands that it is essential “not to lose the characteristic that the 2007 team had: passion for the game and a lot of courage.” Tomaz Morais highlights that “playing well and beautifully is not enough, it takes courage.”
Tomaz Morais, currently manager of the Sporting Clube de Portugal team, was a rugby coach between 2001 and 2010 and remembers one of the most special moments of his time with the national team: the match against New Zealand in the World Cup, the All Balcks . as the Oceania team is known. The most memorable moment for Tomaz Morais occurred after the game, in the locker room, when the New Zealand players “refused to sign autographs saying that we were also fellow competitors. And also the praise that the New Zealand coach gave us, when he said that we gave him his team a lesson in what passion for the game is and the natural values and principles of the game. These are moments that remain in Tomaz Morais’ memory, as does the time we spent together after the game: “At that time, we were sponsored by a brewery and we had to invite New Zealanders to try our beer.”
To conclude, Tomaz Morais also leaves a message for the Wolves who will participate in this World Cup: “That they can make us believe. We are capable of doing what many do not believe. That every tackle, every pass, every run with the ball, whether with the soul that characterizes us, the wolves, and that characterizes the Portuguese”.
Source: TSF
