Ireland To Face Portugal In Historic Rugby Clash
By Priscilla Jepchumba
The president of the Portuguese Rugby Union has announced that Portugal and Ireland are scheduled to face off in the summer of 2025, making history as the first time ever that they have faced off.
Portugal's national team, currently ranked fifteenth in the world, is gearing up for a packed schedule in July, while the British and Irish Lions will be embarking on their tour of Australia.
Ireland holds the number one spot in the rankings, a position they first achieved in 2019. Portugal's rugby team, also known as Os Lobos, made an appearance in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.
Additionally, they secured a place in the 2023 Rugby World Cup during the 2022 qualifiers. In the 2023 tournament, Portugal earned their first competition points by drawing with Georgia 18-18 and secured their first-ever win in the Rugby World Cup by defeating Fiji 24-23 with a late try from Rodrigo Marta.
Their consistent world ranking has sparked interest from bigger teams that want to play against Portugal. The location for the upcoming event is still unknown, but it was revealed in July that Ireland will be touring Romania and Georgia in the summer of 2025, suggesting that Portugal will be the hosting country.
The Lobos have recently competed at the Estádio Nacional do Jamor and Estádio do Restelo, both football venues. However, the event is anticipated to be held at one of the country's more modern stadiums, with the Estádio Alvalade XXI and Estádio da Luz being the two most attractive options.
The IRFU's performance director, David Humphreys, mentioned that Ireland plans to tour Georgia and Romania in the future to provide playing opportunities for players not involved with the Lions.
This initiative aims to expose a wider pool of players. In previous encounters with Romania and Georgia, Ireland defeated Romania 82-08 in the 2023 Rugby World Cup and Georgia 23-10 in the Autumn Nations Cup 2020.
