This marks Portugal's inaugural appearance in the Autumn Nations Series, highlighting their growing prominence in international rugby.
Head to head
The two teams have faced each other only twice before at Test level: a 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifier and during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, both of which Scotland won.
Scotland currently sit sixth in the World Rugby rankings, leapfrogging England who have dropped from fifth to seventh following their home defeat by Australia. Portugal are down in 15th but will be no pushover.
Portugal's rise
Os Lobos (The Wolves) delivered impressive performances against Wales and Australia during the 2023 Rugby World cup, which was capped by a thrilling draw with Georgia in one of the tournament's standout matches.
They then achieved an historic upset, edging Fiji 24-23 in a game that will be remembered as one of the biggest shocks in Rugby World Cup history.
This match offers a fantastic opportunity to celebrate one of rugby’s emerging forces on the international stage.
Under the guidance of former All Black Simon Mannix, taking over from Patrice Lagisquet, Portugal have developed a dynamic and resilient playing style, earning them recognition and respect in the rugby community.
Recent form
Scotland head into this Test match off the back of a tough defeat to the reigning World Champions South Africa. They have won four of their last five games, scoring over 30 points in each game bar against South Africa (15).
Portugal have had a mixed bag of results, winning two out of their last five games. Their last run-out on 9th November against the USA Eagles ended in a 17-21 loss.
Portugal have won just one of their previous 20 Test matches against current Tier 1 nations (D1 L18), a 9-6 win against Italy in 1973, having lost each of their 15 such games since then by an average margin of 38 points.
Portugal’s Nicolas Martins had the highest tackle success rate among the 62 players to attempt 30+ tackles in the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship (98%, 59/60), while younger brother Lucas gained the most metres of any player in the competition (396).
Team News
Scotland have been forced into a trio of changes in the squad due to injury, with Max Williamson has been withdrawn from the squad with a hand injury along with Jack Dempsey who has sustained a shoulder injury. Gregor Brown is also out with a rib injury.
Head coach Gregor Townsend has called up hooker Johnny Matthews and loosehead prop Alec Hepburn as he looks to patch up his side.
When asked about what his Scotland side will look like to face Os Lobos, Townsend said: “It’s a six-day turnaround after one of the toughest encounters that we’ll face. And also there’s a group of players that have been working hard the last two weeks who deserve an opportunity. So, yeah, you’ll see a few changes next week.”
Darcy Graham will also be back up for selection after going through the Return to Play concussion protocols. He scored four tries in Scotland’s opener versus Fiji, while Kyle Rowe is also set to be back in contention for selection. “Darcy trained with us on Saturday, no contact, so he’ll be good to go,” Townsend said. “Kyle did a lot more. I believe both will be available. It’s just whether we decide to select them or not.”
