Brazil move into qualifier quarters with an Olympic weight on their shoulders
Brazil’s sevens squad are not burdened by qualifying for the 2016 Olympics Games with Rio de Janeiro being the host city, but captain Fernando Portugal said they are still feeling immense pressure.
Brazil’s sevens squad are not burdened by qualifying for the 2016 Olympics Games with Rio de Janeiro being the host city, but captain Fernando Portugal said they are still feeling immense pressure.
The Brazilians beat Mexico 33-10 in their final pool E match on Saturday morning to reach the Sevens World Series qualifier quarter-finals with two wins from three group games, including a stunning 17-21 victory over Hong Kong.
“We are already guaranteed a spot in the Olympics in Rio so this [weekend] is all magical for us,” Portugal said. “But it also brings a lot of responsibility for the team because we will be representing Brazil at home against the best teams in the world.
“And the main goal is to be competitive so playing in tournaments like the Hong Kong Sevens helps us gain experience.”
Brazil have played a few times on the global sevens circuit but are yet to beat any of the core teams and a 19-26 Shield semi-final loss to Portugal at this year’s USA Sevens is their best result so far.
Portugal said Saturday the atmosphere at the Hong Kong Sevens is like nothing he has faced, adding that his players’ ears were still ringing from the “scary” crowd noise during their match against the hosts on Friday.
