Major names culled in Portugal's Rugby Europe Championship squad

Simon Mannix has made some surprise inclusions and omissions in his selection for the upcoming Men’s Rugby Europe Championship, with Portugal kicking off the campaign in Brussels.

The Lobos will see the return of FC Grenoble lock José Madeira, who was unavailable for the Autumn Internationals due to injury. AS Béziers-Hérault’s Samuel Marques, AEIS Agronomia’s Manuel Cardoso Pinto and GD Direito’s João Granate are also back in the national squad.

However, in the opposite direction, Valence-Romans’ Joris Moura, US Montauban’s Maixent da Costa, GD Direito’s David Costa and Orléans lock Steevy Cerqueira will not be offering their services to the Lobos. Moura, da Costa and Cerqueira are currently recovering from injury, while Costa has been suspended for three games after being red-carded in the Portuguese Divisão de Honra.

Tomás Appleton is also in doubt, with the Lobos captain having sustained an injury while playing for CDUL. The Portuguese union has not provided any update regarding his return to action.

As for omissions, for the third international window in a row, SU Agen wing Lucas Martins has not been named in the squad. The youngest Martins sibling has been in good form for Agen, scoring six tries in 13 games, but it was not enough to convince Portugal’s staff to add him to the list.

World Cup stars Anthony Alves and José Lima have also failed to make the initial cut, although there is a chance they could return in the coming weeks.

Portugal finished fourth in the previous Men’s Rugby Europe Championship, suffering a 14-point defeat to their Stejarii rivals, their worst result in the competition since 2022.

Portugal’s poor run in 2025 ultimately meant being drawn into the same pool as Scotland, Ireland and Uruguay, which could result in an early exit from the competition.

With hopes of returning to their 2023 form, the Lobos are targeting a Rugby Europe Championship final, but to do so they will have to overcome Belgium, Germany and Romania over the next three weeks.

Portugal’s initial Rugby Europe Championship squad:

Props: Afonso Tapadinhas (GD Direito), António Prim (GD Direito), Cody Lee Thomas (FC Grenoble), Diogo Hasse Ferreira (US Dax), José Lavos (GDS Cascais), Luís Lopes (GD Direito), Martim Souto (Aurillac) and Pedro Vicente (AEIS Agronomia).

Hookers: Luka Begic (Stade Montois), Santiago Lopes (GDS Cascais) and Nuno Mascarenhas (GDS Cascais).

Locks: André da Cunha (CF ‘Os Belenenses’), Pedro Ferreira (GD Direito), Duarte Torgal (GD Direito), Guilherme Costa (Técnico Rugby), Duarte Nunes (GD Direito) and Martim Bello (GDS Cascais).

Back row: David Wallis (CF ‘Os Belenenses’), Diego Pinheiro Ruiz (Provence Rugby), João Granate (GD Direito), José Monteiro (El Salvador), Manuel Fati (SL Benfica), Vasco Baptista (CF ‘Os Belenenses’) and Nicolás Martins (US Colomiers).

Scrum half: Samuel Marques (AS Béziers-Hérault), Hugo Camacho (AS Béziers-Hérault), António Campos (SL Benfica), Pedro Lucas (Técnico Rugby) and Tomás Amado (Agronomia Rugby).

Fly half: Hugo Aubry (AS Béziers-Hérault), Domingos Cabral (AEIS Agronomia), Tomás Marques (CR Tondela) and Manuel Vareiro (Provence Rugby).

Centres: Rodrigo Marta (US Colomiers), Tomás Appleton (CDUL), Guilherme Vasconcelos (CDUL) and Alfredo Almeida (GDS Cascais).

Outside backs: Diogo Rodrigues (CF ‘Os Belenenses’), Manuel Cardoso Pinto (AEIS Agronomia), Martim Faro (CDUL), Nuno Sousa Guedes (CDUP), Raffaele Storti (FC Grenoble), Simão Bento (Stade Montois), Vasco Leite (AEIS Agronomia) and Vincent Pinto (US Colomiers).