Barring any more British and Irish Lions call-ups – and you couldn't rule that out – the 2024/25 season comes to a conclusion for the 32 players on Ireland’s summer tour in Lisbon this evening.
For three of that squad, a season of mixed provincial results ends with their first international caps; Munster’s Alex Kendellen and Connacht pair Hugh Gavin and Shayne Bolton joining the six debutants from last week’s win in Georgia.
By tonight, 29 of Paul O’Connell’s 32-man squad will have seen some gametime over the course of this two-game tour of Georgia and Portugal, with Leinster pair Paddy McCarthy and Stephen Smyth, as well as Ulster scrum-half Nathan Doak, the three who will have missed out on an appearance this summer.
Ireland’s first ever Test match against Portugal will take place in the novel surroundings of Estadio Nacional in Lisbon, site of Celtic’s famous 1967 European Cup final win against Inter Milan.
Saturday’s Test won’t quite be spoken in similar tones – although a win for the Portuguese could change that – with around 9,000 people expected at the ground, but it will be one to remember for Kendellen, Gavin and Bolton, as they earn their first Irish caps.
"It has driven on the week. There’s three new caps and it’s all about making it a special debut for them," captain Craig Casey said, ahead of their final Test of the season.
"We’ve got a lot of responsibility to make that happen.
"They’ve been buzzing off the wall this week, and it’s been great to see that. We did that meeting last night where they were presented with their first jersey, and you can see how special it is to play for Ireland.
"It’s another Test week, another chance to put on an Irish jersey. That’s driven the week. You could see in training there was competitiveness, and it was a tough week training in the heat."
With 17 Irish players currently away on duty with the Lions in Australia, the message in camp has been to strike while the iron is hot and make a big impact with what, for some of these players, is a rare or even first opportunity in an Ireland shirt.
The captain can speak first hand about how tough it is to break into Andy Farrell’s side. While Casey is now part of the first choice Ireland squad, the presence of Conor Murray and Jamison Gibson-Park means it’s taken him just over four years to reach what will be his 20th cap for Ireland this weekend.
"It’s a real chance for lads to put their hands up.
"It’s obviously a new coaching staff, but we know those coaches in Australia are looking on.
"If you can put your hands up for them, you can make a big statement for them coming back in the autumn. That's where you want to be, putting your hands up for jerseys.
"It’s a huge opportunity, but it’s also a huge privilege every chance you get to put on an Irish jersey. We don't take that for granted at all," he added.
Even with a matchday 23 that contains just 168 caps, Ireland will be expected to win against Os Lobos, whose squad is largely composed of players based either in Portugal or in the French ProD2 or Federal National.
Since their breakthrough at the 2023 World Cup, where they pulled off an incredible win against Fiji, while also drawing with Georgia, former Munster assistant Simon Mannix has taken over from Frenchman Patrice Lagisquet as head coach. Portugal have been invited for experience-building games away to both South Africa and Scotland in the last 12 months, and although they did ship large defeats, they caused both sides enough problems to score three tries in each game.
After carrying their World Cup form into the Rugby Europe Championship last year, finishing runners-up to Georgia, they had to settle for a fourth-place finish in 2025, with defeats to Spain and Romania in the play-offs, following a perfect three bonus-point wins from three in the pool.
Casey (below), however, says Ireland are wary of the threats Portugal pose, after crossing paths with them in the lead-up to the World Cup two tears ago.
"We’ve spent the week looking at that stuff. We played them in the 2023 World Cup warm-up in Portugal as well, that was a very hot day and in fairness to them, they ripped us up at times.
"We know how dangerous they can be, and we knew going into the World Cup that they would do quite well there and play some good rugby.
"Their 15 is absolutely class, [Nuno] Suosu Guedes, his feet are absolutely electric. The other winger, [Simao] Bento, is another very good player. I played against their 13, [Vincent] Pinto, for the French U20s.
"We know them quite well. Their seven [Nicolas Martins] is a massive threat for them. He’s awesome for them at the breakdown, he’s a good carrier for them and is their talisman, and they also look for their 12 [Tomas Appleton], their captain.
"We know quite a lot about they and their respect for the game, and we know how special it is for Portugal, but it’s also special for us."
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