Portugal overwhelm Hong Kong

The fourth match of World Rugby u20 Trophy Day One saw Portugal overwhelm Hong Kong by 59-23. It was an impressive showing from the Portuguese, scoring eight tries in all and running out to a 45-6 lead before taking their foot off the gas in the final quarter.

Paul Altier and Jerónimo Portela exchanged penalty goals to open the scoring. It wasn’t long, however, before Portugal’s speedy backline made its mark. Left winger Raffaele Storti was a standout, scoring the first of three tries by popping up in the midfield to take a short ball from Portela in under the sticks.

The right winger, Francisco Salgado, would get two tries. A simple overlap created the first. Soon after Altier knocked over his second penalty to offer brief relief for the Hong Kong.

Storti was soon at it again, this time tackled short but setting the ball up for Rodrigo Marta to pick and dive into the corner. He would finish the job himself for the next two scores.

The first was a brilliant finish, Portela’s left-footed kick in-goal bouncing up perfectly for Storti to catch and ground before going over the dead ball line. The second was a simple chip-and-chase on a counter-attack with Storti outpacing the cover.

Replacement lock José Madeira was binned just moments after coming on the field for a cynical penalty after a scoreless period to start the second half. The numerical disadvantage did not concern Portugal, with Salgado dancing his way through for his double on a set move from a lineout.

With the result well and truly wrapped up, Portugal would concede three unanswered tries to Hong Kong. Kyle Kitney broke clear for the first, Altier stepped over for the second, and the third went to flanker Kyle McCallum who showed good strength to drive in from close range.

The last say went to the Portuguese. Pedro Lucas broke from a ruck to send Tomas Lamboglia over. Lucas wrapped up proceedings with one for himself, throwing a dummy on a quick tap to sneak in for a seven-pointer. Lamboglia’s conversion capped a perfect 9-for-9 day for Portugal’s kickers.

It will be Canada’s turn to take on the confident Europeans on Saturday in a rematch of their earlier meeting this year in Portugal. Hong Kong will face the might of the Tongans in their second round match.

 

SCORING

PORTUGAL 59
Tries – R. Storti 3 (12’, 32’, 37’), F. Salgado 2 (17’, 60’), R. Marta (28’), T. Lamboglia (75’), P. Lucas (80’)
Cons – J. Portela 6/6 (13’, 18’, 29’, 33’, 38’, 61’), T. Lamboglia 2/2 (76’, 80’)
Pens – J. Portela 1/1 (7’)
Yellow cards – J. Madeira (53’)

HONG KONG 27
Tries – K. Kitney (63’), P. Altier (68’), K. McCallum (72’)
Cons – P. Altier 3/3 (64’, 69’, 73’)
Pens – P. Altier 2/2 (5’, 21’)

 

TEAMS

PORTUGAL u20
1 David Costa, 2 Frederico Simões, 3 António Cunha, 4 Sebastião Silva, 5 Martim Belo, 6 Manuel Pinto, 7 Helano Alberto, 8 José Roque (capt.), 9 Pedro Lucas, 10 Jerónimo Portela, 11 Francisco Salgado, 12 José Do Carmo, 13 Rodrigo Marta, 14 Raffaele Storti, 15 Simão Bento

Replacements: 16 Márcio Pinheiro, 17 Duarte Conde, 18 Rodrigo Bento, 19 André Gouveia, 20 José Madeira, 21 Manuel Maia, 22 Joaquim Félix, 23 Tomás Lamboglia, 24 João Vieira, 25 José Santos, 26 Francisco Rosa

HONG KONG u20
1 Nick McGrory, 2 Callum Tam, 3 Rory Cinnamond, 4 James Rivers, 5 Sam Tsoi, 6 Ollie Overman, 7 Joseph Knight, 8 Hugo Darke-Christopher, 9 Henry Poon, 10 Paul Altier (capt.), 11 Tomek Tsang, 12 William Panday, 13 Kyle Kitney, 14 Tiarnan Neville, 15 Lucas Lacamp

Replacements: 16 Cheuk-Wai Ng, 17 Man-Chun Tang, 18 Mikkel Christensen, 19 Wai-Shing Sung, 20 Jonathan Howells, 21 Sam Down, 22 Pat Laidler, 23 Thaddeus Summers, 24 Oliver Duffy, 25 Julian Onderwater, 26 Kyle McCallum

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Gonzalo Ventoso (URU)