“We want to be more than a presence here,” reflects Tomás Appleton as he surveys the precipitous challenge that lies ahead for Portugal. Os Lobos return to the World Cup on Saturday after a 16-year absence and there are few outside who would give them a prayer in arguably the tournament’s toughest pool. Wales may not quake at the prospect of facing a nation that haemorrhaged points in 2007 but, along with the side he captains, Appleton senses an opportunity to show things have changed.
“They were our idols when I was a kid,” he says of the players who, on their debut among the elite, managed to score tries in thumping defeats against Scotland, New Zealand and Italy before coming relatively close to a famous win over Romania. “We want to follow in their footsteps but we also want to compete, win games, be sure of ourselves. Our preparations are so different from everything we’ve had in the past. I’m not saying we’re going to win the tournament or anything like that, but we’re there to be competitive and if we do that we’ll make some surprises.”
