Portugal women's national rugby union team

The Portugal national women's rugby union team are a national sporting side of Portugal, representing them at rugby union. They played their first test in 1995 against Germany.

Portugal
Shirt badge/Association crest
UnionPortuguese Rugby Federation
Head coachJoão Moura
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current24 (as of 15 July 2024)
Highest18 (2003)
Lowest27 (2023)
First international
Portugal  0–50  Germany
(14 May 1995, Heidelberg)
Biggest win
Portugal  71–5  Belgium
(22 October 2022, Brussels)
Biggest defeat
Portugal  0–50  Germany
(14 May 1995, Heidelberg)

History

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As Lusitanas, the 1995 team that played Portugal's first test match, versus Germany

Portugal played their first test match on 14 May 1995 against Germany, they were thrashed 50–0 in Heidelberg.[1] After 26 years of inactivity, they returned to the international scene in December 2021, they defeated Belgium 10–8 in Lisbon.[1]

Portugal competed at the 2021–22 Rugby Europe Women's Trophy, they defeated Belgium and Germany. They recorded their biggest win at the 2022–23 Rugby Europe Women's Trophy when they defeated Belgium 71–5.[2] They jumped up 19 places to 30th after their record win over Belgium.[3] They also went on to win the Trophy competition and earned a promotion to the 2024 Rugby Europe Women's Championship.[4]

In 2023, they played Brazil in a two-test series in São Paulo.[5] They lost the first match, as the hosts recorded their first test win, but fought back to win the second test to end the series with a draw.[5][6]

Record

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Overall

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(Full internationals only)

Rugby: Portugal internationals 1995-
Opponent First Game Played Won Drawn Lost % Won
  Belgium 2021 2 2 0 0 100%
  Brazil 2023 2 1 0 1 50%
  Czech Republic 2023 1 1 0 0 100%
  Finland 2023 1 1 0 0 100%
  Germany 1995 3 2 0 1 66.67%
  Netherlands 2024 1 0 0 1 0%
  Spain 2024 1 0 0 1 0%
  Sweden 2022 2 1 0 1 50%
Summary 1995 13 8 0 5 61.54%

Players

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Squad for two-test series against Brazil:[5][6]

Players Position
Elsa Santos Front Row
Inês Marques Front Row
Beatriz Rodrigues Front Row
Carlota Torres Front Row
Maria Teixeira Front Row
Claire Sanchez Front Row
Sara Fernandes Front Row
Ana Freire Second Row
Maria Morant Second Row
Mario Mazer Second Row
Arlete Gonçalves Second Row
Laura Pereira Back Row
Arlete Gonçalves Back Row
Ana Fernandes Forward
Maria Morant Forward
Inês Barbosa Forward
Sara Oliveira Back Row
Leonor Amaral Scrum-half
Beatriz Oliveira Fly-half
Maria João Costa Centre
Mariana Marques Centre
Antónia Martins Wing
Inês Spínola Wing
Daniela Correira Fullback
Ana Santos Back
Chloe Costa Back
Mariana Santos Back
Marta Pedro Back
Antónia Martins Back

References

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  1. ^ a b "Portugal have big ambitions for women's rugby". www.world.rugby. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  2. ^ "Portugal vence a Bélgica no primeiro jogo da época". PORTUGAL RUGBY (in Portuguese). 2022-10-22. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  3. ^ "2022 in Review: World Rugby Women's Rankings powered by Capgemini". www.world.rugby. 2022-12-19. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  4. ^ "2023's top performers in World Rugby Women's Rankings powered by Capgemini | World Rugby". www.world.rugby. 2023-12-30. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  5. ^ a b c "Brazil Record Historic Win Over Portugal". Americas Rugby News. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  6. ^ a b "Brazil Fall to Portugal in Low-Scoring Contest". Americas Rugby News. 2023-11-26. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
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