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Preview: Scotland v Portugal

Time for Portugal to stand tall and be counted

When Scotland take on World Cup newcomers Portugal on Sunday, in St. Etienne, it will not be so much about the result, as that is a given, but the occasion for Portugal.

The lack of any previous World Cup appearances is not for the lack of trying, as Portugal have, on four previous attempts, failed to make it through their respective qualifying groups.

Having played their first international in 1935, against Spain, Portugal have gradually developed into a more than competent side. Their finest hour, prior to that coming in St Etienne on Sunday, came in 2004, when they were surprise winners of the European Nations Cup.

This provided them with the springboard they so desperately needed to progress as a nation on the world scene, coupled with coach Tomaz Morais, who for the record is a professor. Much of Portugal's success is credited to Morais, who at one stage was in charge of both the sevens side as well as the full side.

The journey to St Etienne has been a long and arduous one. Portugal had to play no less than sixteen games, in four different qualifying tournaments, before finally securing their place in Pool C. And yet that was still not the end of matters, as several players were arrested for over-zealous celebrations of their feat. However they were later released by Uruguayan police without being charged.

And so to present day, and the daunting prospect of Scotland - at least they don't start their campaign against New Zealand. They will be thankful for small mercies as they look to do a football-mad nation proud.

For Scotland this will be a glorified training run, which is in no way disrespectful to Portugal, more a realisation of the gulf between the two sides. This is the first of two successive games they will win with relative ease, before the real business begins.

The focus, which again is an honest reflection of this pool, will be Scotland's last game - although there is the small matter of New Zealand along the way - against Italy. This will surely decide the runners-up spot. The objective on Sunday then will be to ensure the systems they operate are running smoothly, so that they may progress on their path with confidence.

Hence why Frank Hadden has opted to run out his big guns and let them fire off as many warning shots as a potentially porous Portuguese defence will allow them. There is no danger of Scotland surpassing Ireland's 1968 record 132-0 victory over Portugal, although they will be eyeing an opening round century.

For the side dubbed as 'Los Lobos', the wolves, this is the very essence of their boyhood dreams. However if they let the occasion overawe them it will be not just a long day, but a long month that lies ahead of them.

Ones to watch:

For Scotland:: Scotland have a fine selection of players you will want to peruse. Yet the one who stands out is number eight Simon Taylor. With Jason white employed to do the hard hitting in defence, and Allister Hogg to do the dirty work, Taylor will have a free reign to play his natural running game. Against Portugal he will have more space than usual, expect him to cause severe damage to 'Los Lobos'.

For Portugal: On their debut in the Rugby World Cup you will want to watch how every member of this side rises to the occasion. The pride and passion will be there for all to see, even if the skill and technique does not quite match it.

Head to head: With so few professional players in the side Portugal will look to a select group of players to lead their charge. And to that extent the battle between Diogo Mateus and Rob Dewey will be an interesting one. Mateus will be charged with the task of seeing his side at least spend some time on the front foot. Whilst Dewey will look to do the same, and more, for Scotland.

Recent Results:

1999: Scotland won 85-11, Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Prediction: As much as everyone who is not Scottish will hope it isn't the case, this has the potential to be a huge score. Scotland by at least eighty.

The teams:

Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Marcus Di Rollo, 12 Rob Dewey, 11 Simon Webster, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Simon Taylor 7 Allister Hogg, 6 Jason White (c), 5 Scott Murray, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Gavin Kerr, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Chris Paterson, 22 Hugo Southwell.

Portuagl: 15 Pedro Leal, 14 David Mateus, 13 Federico Sousa, 12 Diogo Mateus, 11 Pedro Carvalho, 10 Duarte Cardoso Pinto, 9 José Pinto, 8 Vasco Uva (c), 7 João Uva, 6 Juan Severino Somoza, 5 David Penalva, 4 Gonçalo Uva, 3 Ruben Spachuck, 2 Joaquim Ferreira, 1 Rui Cordeiro.
Replacements: 16 Juan Manuel Muré, 17 João Correia, 18 Paulo Murinello, 19 Diogo Coutinho, 20 Luis Pissarra, 21 Pedro Cabral, 22 Miguel Portela.

Date: Sunday September 9, 2007
Kick off: 18.00 (17.00 BST)
Venue: Stade Geoffrey-Guichard, St-Etienne
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Marius Jonker (South Africa), Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Television match official: Dave Pearson (England)
Assessor: Tappe Henning (South Africa)

By Marcus Leach