One of the real up and comers on the international rugby scene will be looking to get one over a new look outfit when Portugal play host to Ireland this saturday.
Portugal v Ireland | Saturday 12 July | Estadio Nacional do Jamor
To Win (80 Mins)
Portugal | Draw | Ireland
Handicap
Portugal | Ireland
The darlings of the 2023 Rugby World Cup will be looking to cause an upset just like the one they did when they beat Fiji at the global showpiece two years back.
They’ve played a couple big ticket fixtures since that famous win out in Toulouse and while they went down in both of those – they were beaten 64-21 by South Africa in Bloemfontein and 59-21 by scotland in Edinburgh – the did show a lot of heart and played some really attractive rugby in both fixtures.
Looking at their 2025 campaign, Portugal finished fourth in the 2025 Rugby Europe Championship after topping Pool B which featured Romania, Belgium and Germany.
While Portugal will field an experienced side, a youthful looking Ireland, who are ithout a number of their stars due to British and Irish Lions call-ups, will be looking to back up their solid 5-34 victory over Georgia in Tbilisi last weekend. The understrength Irish went about their job professionally last weekend and managed to nullify a strong Georgian pack who they took to task at the set piece.
Verdict: Portugal (+)
While Irealnd impressed against Georgia last weekend, I think they may find the going tougher against this dogged Portuguese side who will be spurred on by vocal home support.
