Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a message to the Portugal international rugby team after they booked their place at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
They claimed the last place in the 2023 men’s Rugby World Cup in France, after snatching a 16-16 draw against USA in their final qualifier.
Portugal were the deserved winners the four-team final qualifying tournament in Dubai on points difference with a last-minute penalty.
They will be in Pool C alongside Wales, Australia, Fiji and Georgia.
Following the game, global superstar Ronaldo sent a video message to the squad saying well done and he looks forward to watching them in the 2023.
This is a rough translation as the video was in Portuguese.
“It’s one of the best feelings in the world when hard work pays off, it’s simply unbelievable,” said Portugal captain Tomas Appleton.
“For the rugby community this is amazing, we’ve missed it quite a few times (after 2007) and we need a new generation to inspire young kids to play rugby.
“Our coach Patrice [Lagisquet] has done an amazing job to get the players into a strong unit and the hard work pays off.”
Cristiano Ronaldo facts:
- Many football fans only know him as Cristiano Ronaldo, however, when you dig deeper, you will find his name is a little longer. His actual name is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.
- Growing up, Ronaldo didn’t have the catchiest of nicknames. He was referred to by two popular nicknames, ‘crybaby’ and ‘little bee’.
- Cristiano Ronaldo’s net worth is $250 million.
- Ronaldo has a museum in Funchal that is dedicated to his life, career, rare photos, trophies, and awards that he has won over the years
- Manchester United paid £12 million to sign him in 2003-a a record fee for a player of his age
- Ronaldo lifts around 23,055 kg of weight during a training session, which is a total of 16 Toyota Prius cars. The guy just continues to amaze us.
FULL 2023 RUGBY WORLD CUP DRAW AND FIXTURES:
POOL A
- New Zealand
- France
- Italy
- Uruguay
- Namibia
POOL A FIXTURES:
- Sep 8: France vs New Zealand (Pool A) – Stade de France, Saint-Denis
- Sep 9: Italy vs Namibia (Pool A) – Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Etienne
- Sep 14: France vs Uruguay (Pool A) – Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille
- Sep 15: New Zealand vs Namibia (Pool A) – Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse
- Sep 20: Italy vs Uruguay (Pool A) – Stade de Nice, Nice
- Sep 21: France vs Namibia (Pool A) – Stade Velodrome, Marseille
- Sep 27: Uruguay vs Namibia (Pool A) – Parc OL, Lyon
- Sep 29: New Zealand vs Italy (Pool A) – Parc OL, Lyon
- Oct 5: New Zealand vs Uruguay (Pool A) – Parc OL, Lyon
- Oct 6: France vs Italy (Pool A) – Parc OL, Lyon
