“Special talent Storti”, is how the World Rugby describes the Técnico student Raffaele Storti. His excellent physical form and remarkable performances during the World Rugby U20 Trophy, held in Brazil last July, were crucial and allowed the Portuguese team to become vice-champions.
Happy with the results achieved by the Portuguese team, the Técnico student says: “No one was expecting that Portugal would get so far. The whole team turned out to be a revelation. I am personally very happy with my performance and I was able to stand out”.
Despite being defeated by Japan by 35-34 in the final game, the Portuguese team – Lobos Sub-20 – showed a remarkable performance and Raffaele Storti was the top scorer in the World Rugby U20 Trophy 2019 with 9 tries. “We were well prepared for each game. Our team played really well”, says the Técnico student. After being the European champions 3 times, the U20 Portuguese Rugby team reached the finals after beating Tonga 40-3, Hong Kong 59-27 and Canada 49-21.
Besides Raffaele Stori, another 5 Técnico Rugby players were invited to play at the World Rugby U20 Trophy. “It’s easier when we play with members from the same team because we know each other better and that helps a lot”, says the Técnico student. However, he does not believe that this is a key factor influencing success. “Our team has been playing together for a few years, we know each other very well both on and off the field”, he says.
“I play rugby since I was 10. The truth is that I didn’t know much about rugby and, at the time, my friend Jerónimo Portela played rugby and encouraged me to try”, recalls the Técnico student. “My passion for rugby gradually grew, mostly due to the incredible atmosphere at training sessions, the friends that I made and the values that rugby instilled in me”, recalls Raffaele Stori.
Raffaele Storti will begin his second year and he confesses that combine his studies with rugby is not always easy. “Rugby takes us a lot of time. We train practically every day, we have tournaments during the weekend and we travel a lot. It gets especially complicated when competition dates match test and exam dates”, he says. “But you should never quit, because everything is possible as long as you have commitment and responsibility”, he adds.
Lobos Sub-20 will have the opportunity to compete in the World Rugby U20 Trophy next year. “I hope that, in 2020, we can achieve the qualification we missed out this year”, says Raffaele Stori.
