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New Zealand vs Portugal

Portugal showed the Kind of Passion that England have lacked, it was a we are hear to represent OUR Country, we WILL Sing, we WILL play to the best of our abilities...

England seem to be, ah well We are World Champions, we may sing, we may play some rugby, or we may just pretend we know how to play rugby...

Hats off to Portugal, you deserve to be in the World Cup, and I hope to see you playing the Six Nations or some other major Tournament within 4 years.. They have made the step now is the time for the money to be invested into the sport within the country...

WELL DONE!!! :)
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Yup, but unfortunately, after this world cup, it would be all the same: one or two portuguese players might hit the jackpot and play professional rugby outside Portugal, but the rest will go on with their lifes. In 2011, I believe this wonderful team is not there anymore... so it's better to take the most out of it while we can, to write a beautiful page on the history of sports. So, for me & for all of us, we hope they'll beat Romania, and you can bet that these heroes will have a proper reception when they come back at Portugal. :bravo:

Here in Portugal we are also really disappointing with our football team, who look now like a group of fags... rugby is nowadays THE national team we are most proud of...
 
wonderful stuff from portugal, really brought a smile to my face.

i thought the number eight, girau? was excellent, tidying up behind a lot of under pressure scrums and making good yards.

nice to see a NH side playing with a bit of pride in their jersey for a change
 
I think a few more than two will be snapped up by other NH clubs. Also, Portugal might get a bit more funding and sponsorship to develop the game. Did Portugal get iRB funding for a dedicated skills coach like Namibia?
 
Great game by Portugal, certainly have shown why they are in the RWC instead of Uruguay. I really hope they defeat Romania.
 
Great game by Portugal, certainly have shown why they are in the RWC instead of Uruguay. I really hope they defeat Romania.
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Maybe I'm confused but as far as I remember Uruguay understimated Portugal strenght, played without any pro player the first match and lost it, then they called up the pros for the second match but it wasn't enough to qualify ...
 
Hopefully Portugal progress to say, Georgia's and Canada's stage in NZ in 2011, no way the IRB cuts the teams to 16 anymore, gone are the days of the Minnows just tackling all day and scoring a consolation try at the end, teams like Ireland playing near full strength teams and still getting pushed.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed this game.

Portugal played with a passion that did not diminish for the entire 80 minutes. They did not give up at all despite the scoreline and despite their fitness. They played liked their LIVES depended on it. In a way I suppose they realised this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and that they may never ever get the chance to do it again...that they were making history. So they played as men who were worthy to have such an opportunity. They truly desevered to be on that field.

The All Blacks also gave a performance that was deserved of the Portugese....they did not play touch rugby and simply spread it wide at every opportunity and go sideline to sideline. Instead they played the structure they normally play and treated this game as a true international by hitting the midfield target before shifting it quickly on the second phase. They also kept Portugal honest by working the pick and go moves a few times before spreading it wide. When they were in their 22 they kicked for territory using Evans. So Portugal experienced playing against the structure the top international teams would employ when they play each other rather than the touch rugby style that top teams are tempted to use whenever they play a minnow. In this regard I think the AB's showed Portugal great respect by playing the game professionally

It was however the end of game proceedings that really got my attention. The way both teams stayed at the ground well after the final whistle and applauded their fans in the French heat spoke volumes of the spirit this game was played in
 
Uva really impressed me while he was on.. Reminded me of King Leonidas from 300...
 
this was a fun game to watch..an exhibition game no doubt the all blacks had to worry about not playing too poorly and they were forced to do that..they got pushed around by the smaller portugese forwards in the rucks and were constantly lazy to counter attack them..and they tried to play depth running football but found all the holes when they just ran straight..

good game from the portugese they do deserve to be here unlike other teams who are disregarding the sport by automatically throwing in the white flag!..im tipping them to have a tight battle against the italians
 
the portugal spirit throughout the match was amazing from their singing of their anthem to them scoring their try. absolutely inspiring and awesome to watch! they knew they were up against it but never gave up! NZ were alright to say the least, it was a completely different lineup so there was to be rustness to be expected, but too much for my liking. everytime they dropped the ball i was like WTF!!! when portugal scored that dropgoal, i had the bigggest smile, so great for them. rocks getting dumped tackled by their number 12 was a highlight

AB's
Pro's - scored pretty good tries, had patches of brilliance, carl hayman the 2nd rower!

con's - too many handling mistakes, mils getting injured

Portugal
Pro's - the leadup and scoring of their try, the unwillingness to give up, the passion.

con's - lack of professionals, too many missed tackles, their number 4 was MaSsIvE lol
 
It was great to see such passion in rugby again as I haven't seen it in a long while ever since the game went professional. Portugal fully deserve to be in the world cup and I hope they get more funding for all the players and staff so we can all see them again.



Though I'm from New Zealand and support the All Blacks I found myself cheering for Portugal many times throughout the game. Good luck Portugal for the future and hope they get a win in the remainder of the world cup.
 
I was thoroughly impressed by the Portuguese at the breakdown. I think it was due to their height, after they made a tackle, they were quick to scavenge for the ball, and made it very difficult for the All Blacks. Great body position and everything.
 
Nice friendly-like game and very emotional for the Portugese too. I smiled whenever they were happy and it was great to have that feeling. The Portugese fans were outstanding too. Nice one Portugal. ;)



Congrats to my favourite J. Collins for the man of match, excellent offensive plays. cheers :bravo:
 
Read about this game in the paper today it said that new zealand wern't gunna go all out and they were gunna show some mercy to Portugal guess that didn't happen lol but great to see Portugal in the tournament
 
the portugal spirit throughout the match was amazing from their singing of their anthem to them scoring their try. absolutely inspiring and awesome to watch! they knew they were up against it but never gave up! NZ were alright to say the least, it was a completely different lineup so there was to be rustness to be expected, but too much for my liking. everytime they dropped the ball i was like WTF!!! when portugal scored that dropgoal, i had the bigggest smile, so great for them. rocks getting dumped tackled by their number 12 was a highlight

AB's
Pro's - scored pretty good tries, had patches of brilliance, carl hayman the 2nd rower!

con's - too many handling mistakes, mils getting injured

Portugal
Pro's - the leadup and scoring of their try, the unwillingness to give up, the passion.

con's - lack of professionals, too many missed tackles, their number 4 was MaSsIvE lol
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Number 12 is a doctor in its professional life! :D

I fully agree with you... you can also notice that All Blacks are way much heavier and muscular than Portugal... Portugual's numer 12 clearly has a nice beer belly :D but he makes us more proud nowadays than Cristiano Ronaldo and the other sissies!
 
Number 12 is a doctor in its professional life! :D

I fully agree with you... you can also notice that All Blacks are way much heavier and muscular than Portugal... Portugual's numer 12 clearly has a nice beer belly :D but he makes us more proud nowadays than Cristiano Ronaldo and the other sissies! [/b]
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Yeah judging by the total commitment type of attitude of the Portugese you could tell that they were once a super power with a scary navy back in the days before the back in the days time lol!



One thing that was quite interesting is the speed and agility of some of the Portugese players. The first run of the AB's down the right flank had some Mils over extending himself and straining a hamstring in his attempt to outrun the Portugese players which they failed to do. The Portugese have some real speedsters and perhaps if they took this game seriously as a nation they would be a real force...you just have to look at their football team to realise they have some genuine pacemen. They also had some strong men in the forwards who made some hard tackles.
 
I found this game pretty boring really, the most exciting bit definitely being the portugal try. and that portugal guy who drop kicked was stoking!! :D good on him.

AB's had a few too many handling errors, fumbling too much
 
anyone know why the crowd boo'd when conrad smith scored his first try? was it cuz he stepped and went to the sticks?
 

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