Rugby Europe and Sport TV, have agreed a partnership for the next two seasons, making Sport TV the Official TV broadcast partner in Portugal for Rugby Europe’s major competitions.
This partnership includes the exclusive broadcast rights for:
- All Rugby Europe Super Cup matches featuring the Lusitanos, the deal will cover the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
- All Rugby Europe Championship matches of the men’s national team of Portugal for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
These games will be broadcasted live and exclusively on Sport TV. On Friday 28th of October, the Lusitanos will take on the Delta in the last round of the pool phase of the Rugby Europe Super Cup. the Portuguese franchise needs a bonus win to secure the semi-final at home in December.
The Rugby Europe Super Cup is the newly created annual club competition for the emerging unions which produces top-talent for the international teams. After the final rounds of the pool phase to be played by the end of October, the two best teams of each regional conference will qualify for the semi-finals (3/4 December), before the Finals on December 17.
Last season, the Lusitanos reached the final of the competition, missing out on the title after a narrow defeat against the Black Lion from Georgia.
The second aspect of the partnership will be the Rugby Europe Championship involving the 8 best teams in the Rugby Europe XV’s competition. The competition held with a new format will take place in February and March each year. After three games in a round robin phase, teams will play the semi-finals (4/5 March) before a Grand Finals week-end (18-19 March) to get the title.
The Portuguese national team, coached by the former French international, Patrice Lagisquet, has become a strong contender for the annual title and are still very much in the race for the Qualification for the next Rugby World Cup 2023.
Nuno Ferreira Pires, CEO of SPORT TV, said: “We are very proud to announce our partnership with Rugby Europe for the next two seasons. The Portuguese audience, as proven their undying passion for Rugby, especially with the presence of the Portuguese team Lusitanos and the Portuguese National Team. The next two seasons will undoubtedly bring impressive successes for both partners as we guarantee the top quality service to sports fans in Portugal.”
Florent Marty, CEO of Rugby Europe, commented on the partnership: "We are delighted to announce Sport TV as our broadcast partner in Portugal for the next two seasons. Sport TV has a long tradition of bringing premium sports content to fans in Portugal, providing coverage of major competitions. This will be a great lever for the promotion of rugby in Portugal.”