FIJ 23-24 POR: Comments from Portugal captain Lima & head coach Lagisquet

MEDIA CONFERENCE

Patrice Lagisquet, head coach 

On the fantastic adventure:

"I don't know what to say. I am always afraid of big words but it is a fantastic moment. The players surprised me one more time. I knew they were capable of going into the last bit of action but I couldn't look at the scoreboard. It is not the first time they have played that kind of trick on me."

On what he was thinking when he saw Raffaele Storti cruising to the line with Rodrigo Marta beside him:

"I hoped he would give him [Marta] the ball because during the European Championships he had the ball but he made a mistake. It's Rodrigo Marta. They have played together since they were six years old. That's why he maybe gave him the ball."

On the climax of 'total rugby':

"This final try corresponded to the team's DNA. These players are really generous, capable of playing the width of the pitch. The Portuguese championship has less structure but the speed and the width is great, they have fantastic players."

On how he sees the future for the Portugal team:

"In four matches they were able to make some progress. They were lacking in the first two. Against Australia they were about to do something pretty good, but today's match was more accomplished. What is important is the evolution of the team match after match. They play a fast game that is interesting to watch.

"Even though there are key players who might be retiring - Mike, Chico [prop Francisco Fernandes], although he wants to play his 50th match - in the front-row there are great prospects who are already showing good qualities in terms of playing at that high level. It will be tough to replace Sam [Samuel Marques] at this point. 

"There is an Under-18 generation that is pretty good, just like what is happening in Fiji. There are a lot people who are really invested in these championships."

On the prospect of a Rugby World Cup with 24 teams:

"Uruguay and Chile are showing great skills. [Head coach] Pablo Lemoine did a great job with Chile. In rugby one needs to play against high-level teams to flourish. I would say the great nations need to make money and to fill the stadium. I'm not sure if France v Portugal will fill the stadium...maybe that's not the right example because there a lot of Portuguese in France.

"Even though there is a will from World Rugby there is an economic reality. The tier-one nations cannot play two, three or four matches in a row [against so-called tier-two nations] and that's what these nations would need."

José Lima, captain

On the historic match:

"It has been four year of work and for the past year we worked a lot.

"We tried to come back and we scored at the very end today. We could feel that this match was different from the other games we played. It was hard work.

"When we saw all the Portuguese fans behind us it sent shivers down us. This date will go down in history and it is fantastic when you do something that stays for ever. We can say that we did it."

On mix of players in the Portugal team:

"I hope that we will still be playing with a mix, even though today there were a lot of Portuguese players who are playing in the Portuguese championship. In Portugal the championship is not [good] enough so far. We will need players with Portuguese origins who are not in the French team. We will welcome them because Portugal is their country as well.

"I hope this is the first step of something bigger for Portuguese rugby. We waited a long time to qualify for a World Cup and we have realised how fantastic it is to be here. We need to be at the next World Cup."