The last qualified team, the Portugal team has continued to progress in recent years under the orders of Patrice Lagisquet, vice-world champion with the French XV in 1987.
Normally, Lionel Campergue would surely have enjoyed his day off, Saturday September 16, after his week of work as a wine and champagne salesperson. The next day, he would have distributed a few tackles with his club AS Pont Long (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) on the lawn of Soustons (Landes) at the opening of the Federal 2 championship (6th division).
Instead, this Portuguese international will challenge Wales for Portugal’s entry into the World Cup (5:45 p.m.), in front of nearly 35,000 spectators gathered in the Allianz Riviera in Nice. “There is a lot of excitement, not just for me, but for everyone”delivers the hooker for franceinfo: sport.
“We get our ass out of the brambles”
Sixteen years later, “Los Lobos” (the Wolves”), the nickname of the national team, are participating in the second world championship in their history. However, they have come a long way. “We pull our ass out of the brambles at the last moment”, image Lionel Campergue. The 16th nation in the world had initially missed qualification by placing in fourth place in the Rugby Europe championship 2022 (Tournament B) behind Georgia, Spain and Romania. But he took advantage of the downgrading of the Spaniards, sanctioned with ten penalty points for having fielded an ineligible player, to be drafted into the final qualifying tournament where the last ticket must be allocated.
“We were so disappointed to have missed the qualification that we all rallied together, we didn’t miss our second chance”, remembers Campergue. At the end of November, in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), the Portuguese easily beat Hong Kong (42-14) then Kenya (85-0) before finally facing the United States. A draw is enough to send them to heaven. They are trailing by three points when Samuel Marques has the equalizing ball, and therefore qualifying ball, at the end of his foot on a penalty obtained two minutes after the siren.
“I looked at Sam (Brands) straight into my eyes, he gave me a little smile. I knew he was going to wear it.”, plays Vincent Pinto again. The Lobos winger is not wrong. The ball flies between the poles and Portuguese joy can burst. “I still have shivers. I had tears in my eyes, it was something exceptionalrecalled hooker Mike Tadjer, to AFP. It was my life’s dream come true.”
This qualification is the culmination of a long-term project that several players are carrying out in parallel with their professional lives, like the captain Tomas Appleton, dental surgeon in the city. Some were present from the start, when resourcefulness and the D system punctuated each gathering of the national selection. “We have seen some pretty improbable things, even today, we say to ourselves that we are the only selection to do that”laughs Lionel Campergue, remembering the homemade machines to work the scrum or the trips of nearly 20 hours with three stopovers to reach Georgia. “The evolution took place from the moment there was a framework”has been pursuing the international hooker since 2010.
The Lagisquet metamorphosis
This happened thanks to Patrice Lagisquet. In 2019, the 1987 world vice-champion as a player with the French XV and three-time French champion with Biarritz as a coach (2002, 2005 and 2006) offered his services to the Portuguese Federation. He then left the professional world after serving as back coach for the French team, under the orders of Philippe Saint-André (from 2012 to 2015).
“From the start, we had the possibility of qualifying for this World Cup.he said on Stade 2, in February. This is perhaps my last adventure in rugby, it could be a really nice challenge.” “I was surprised because we were losing hope a little, we saw that nothing was changing. I said to myself: ‘How did they manage to attract Lagisquet?’smiles Campergue. He is a person who has a lot of experience, who has reached the high level. He brought us his charisma. When he speaks, everyone shuts their mouth and listens.”
To succeed in his bet, Patrice Lagisquet (46 caps for the French team) drew on his dual culture. “The idea is to use the wealth of Portuguese rugby, which is very creative, focused on taking initiative and at the same time seeking out the strengths of French rugby: conquest, mauls, scrums”he detailed in Stage 2. The selected group reflects the project: 17 of the 33 members of the Lusitanian delegation to the World Cup play in France, some of whom have dual nationality.
Cristiano Ronaldo in support
This is the case of Vincent Pinto. Under-20 world champion with the French team in 2019, alongside Arthur Vincent or Jean-Baptiste Gros, the winger joined the Lobos in 2022. “Patrice [Lagisquet] told me about the selection and identity for the offensive game, I did not hesitate for a second“, he says.
Lagisquet does not “[veut] not that it’s just a passage like that, for a stunt.” “The idea is to evolve the playing culture of Portuguese rugby and participate in an evolution towards new ambitions., he detailed. The oval ball has managed to create a bit of buzz in a football-mad country, to the point that star Cristiano Ronaldo sent a congratulatory message to the Lobos. “I hope that this World Cup will provide a boost in terms of licensees, so that Portuguese rugby can take a step forward”, wishes Vincent Pinto. The land of Œillets has only around 11,000 licensees (compared to more than 130,000 for football).
To generate enthusiasm, the Wolves hope to do better than in 2007, when they conceded four defeats for their discovery of the World Cup. Members of Group C with Wales, Australia, Fiji and Georgia, leaving with their first victory at the World Cup will not be easy. “We know that we will not win the World Cup (laughs). But we don’t come to score 60 points in every match, or just to sing the anthem.”concludes Mike Tadjer.