MADRID, 4 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish rugby team fell (27-10) against Portugal this Saturday in the semifinals of the Rugby Europe Championship 2023, taking down Santi Santos’ men from the fight for gold, with which they will seek bronze in Badajoz against Georgia or Romania.
The meeting in Lisbon, which left the official match debut of the Valencian third row, Marc Sánchez, and the Madrid winger, Pablo Rascón, had two very different parts. Spain took the lead after two minutes and dominated the game with concentration in the first half.
An essay by Josh Peters transformed by Gonzalo Vinuesa increased the score (0-10). However, in an oversight behind, Portugal cut back before the break and in the second half, it was a cross for Spain. The yellow to Joshua Peters in the first moments conditioned the game of the ‘Lions’.
The coach Santi Santos, who in the preview of the match stated that the options to achieve victory in Lisbon were to maintain the same level of intensity seen against Georgia, saw his team suffer from physical fatigue, while the locals seemed fresh in the heat of the Do Restelo Stadium.
Thus, Portugal closed their victory with two trials in 5 minutes, where the Portuguese scrum half, Samuel Marques, closed the local victory. The Lions will fight for bronze in Badajoz against the loser of Sunday’s match between Georgia and Romania.