Rugby World Cup stars burst into tears at full-time whistle after historic win

Rugby World Cup 2023: Day 20 highlights

The Rugby World Cup has thrown up another shock result as Portugal defied the odds to claim their first-ever victory in the tournament at the eighth time of asking, sparking emotional celebrations at the final whistle. The European side had been one of the surprise packages at the World Cup and their players savoured their success – with many reduced to tears – after sealing a dramatic 24-23 victory over Fiji on Sunday night.

Portugal already knew their fate was sealed after finishing fourth in Pool C. But that didn’t stop them from giving it one last effort to leave with something to be proud of in France.

While their tournament exit may have been expected, the nation had given the tournament a dose of its underdog joy with passionate displays and this was no different.

Australia were watching on from their base in Saint Etienne as a resounding Portugal win would have sent them through, and they twice led by seven points in the second half. One more point would have given them what they needed, but Fiji fought back with two penalties from Frank Lomani to put them in the driving seat.

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That was until Rodrigo Marta popped up with a late try to swing the match back in Portugal’s favour and Samuel Marques held his nerve with the conversion. With the seconds ticking down, Portugal dug the ball out of the ruck and booted it into touch to celebrate a magnificent victory on the big stage.

Emotions were running high as they celebrated jubilantly, sprinting around the pitch and hugging each other emphatically. Os Lobos’ fans cheered on their heroes as if they had won the tournament and the tears streaking down their players’ faces would have done little to suggest otherwise, but this was an important step in their country’s rugby history.

Openside flanker Nicolas Martins hailed the efforts of his team-mates in clinching a ‘historic’ victory and labelled the win as the best thing to happen in his life. He said after the game: “We worked a lot for that. It’s historic, I’m so happy. It’s the best moment of my life.”

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While most nations would perhaps feel some joy for Portugal at breaking their duck, England may have felt some relief inside their camp in Le Touquet. Had Fiji lost by an eight-point margin in Sunday’s enthralling fixture, the Pacific islanders would have been knocked out.

In that scenario, England would have faced 2015 runners-up Australia, managed by their former coach Eddie Jones, but Fiji’s late revival sent the Wallabies packing.

Steve Borthwick’s side topped the group with four wins from four, but they were far from their best in their final match of the group stage, scraping past Samoa 18-17 on Saturday afternoon in Lille.

They now face a Fiji side who will be itching to put things right after their narrow defeat, no thanks to Portugal’s 15 heroes.

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