Opinion: A new step for Portugal as Os Lobos face Springboks for the first time

There’s a first time for everything. The first time you walk; the first time you are able to ride your bicycle; the first time you tackle someone; and the first time you fall in love. Well, for Portugal, 2023 has been a first time for many things, and after landing their first-ever win in a World Cup game, the Lobos will now have the right and chance to play against the world champions next July.

Portugal will travel to the wonderful land of the Rainbow nation to meet the Springboks, in a match scheduled for July 20 to be played at a venue to be confirmed.

Portugal will be the second country to challenge the now four-time world champions – Ireland will be the first as they will tour the country in the two previous weeks – and it couldn’t come at a better time.

Excellent Rugby World Cup

The European Tier 2 nation came out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup looking good, becoming an instant crowd-pleaser and creating a huge uproar, with fans demanding more chances to be given to them.

The announcements of the England ‘A’ and Ireland Club XV fixtures weren’t met with great enthusiasm, as both games aren’t going to be treated with blockbuster line-ups. Nonetheless, these new arrangements were a sign that there was interest in carving up the international agenda and prompted a chance for the emerging nations to meet the ones at the top.

With this new announcement, Portugal receives a massive boost that goes beyond the rugby sphere, as it touches also the social side of life or, more specifically, the Portuguese diaspora.

Hundreds of thousands, if not almost one million of Portuguese or Portuguese descendants live in South Africa, making them one of the biggest Portuguese communities in the world, and one that desperately wants to connect to its roots. For them, the Lobos coming to their “home” to face their other love (South Africa) means the world.

Portuguese rugby needs new paths to continue its development, as after banking big from the French-Portuguese community, the trip to the land of the four-time men’s Rugby World Cup champions can fuel a new line of Lobos fans, players, staff, and investors.

Game-changer for the Lobos

This tour to the Southern Hemisphere can be a game-changer for the Lobos, and it meets the moment, as the union is facing serious challenges. From not having a head coach and staff, to financial issues, this fixture can mould a new flow of income and attention, to give a much-needed push.

To play against South Africa, one of rugby’s driving forces, can settle a new pace and standard for a country that lived through some troubling times in the 2010s and wants to avoid falling back into that same void.

Yes, Portugal will face a behemoth of a challenge, and maybe they will lose by a complicated margin, but that mustn’t be the main focal point of this historical fixture, as the new relationships, opportunities, and chance of growth should be the main story.

It’s a new world, a new time, and definitely the sweetest “tomorrow” that a developing rugby nation like Portugal would want.

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