The world rejoices as Portugal scores a massive win over Fiji.
Portugal’s win over Fiji at the World Cup has caused them to climb to 13th in the world. Hooker Mike Tadjer hopes it will prove to his country that “rugby exists.” Their historic 24-23 victory over the Pacific islanders has gained them admiration all over the world.
It was also great for Tadjer, who previously shared plans to hang up his boots at the end of Portugal’s World Cup campaign. He said, “For us, it’s amazing. I’m really proud. It’s the perfect finish. We played well during the first three games but didn’t win. But [against Fiji] , we are really happy.”
“I hope it can spark interest in Portugal. That’s what we said before the tournament – we wanted to show Portugal rugby exists. We hope the biggest people can find more and more to keep Portuguese rugby growing. As you know, the most famous sport in Portugal is football, and we are in a little place. We hope that’s going to be different going forward.”
He spoke about Portuguese players being in French clubs, and his hopes to face more established nations.
“In France, there are a lot of Portuguese [people] . The atmosphere was really good for us.”
“We need to compete with the toughest, biggest teams, like Australia or Fiji, to gain more experience, even if we concede 50 points. We need to work hard to keep this level high in the Portuguese rugby world.”
