Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Tommy O'Brien and Hugh Gavin celebrate Ireland's third try.Ben Brady/INPHO FreeGulf In Class Ireland hit 100 points in record 16-try defeat of Portugal Paul O’Connell’s side were totally dominant in a one-sided affair. 9.28pm, 12 Jul 2025 Share options Ireland 106 IRELAND WRAPPED UP their summer tour with a record win as Paul O’Connell’s side put 16 tries on Portugal in a totally one-sided game in Lisbon. From the very start the visitors were clearly levels above their hosts – ranked 18th in the world – who struggled to live with the speed and accuracy of Ireland’s play in front of a crowd of less than 10,000 at the Estadio Nacional do Jamor – the ground where Celtic famously lifted the European Cup in 1967. There were three debutants in Ireland’s starting team, with Shayne Bolton, Hugh Gavin and Alex Kendellen all putting in positive shifts, but it will be hard for the Ireland coaches to read too much into the game given the gulf in class. The Ireland team stand for the national anthem.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Bolton, Gavin, Tommy O’Brien and Cian Prendergast all scored two tries each, Jack Crowley kicked 12 from 15 off the tee and Ireland’s setpiece gave them a strong platform throughout. Such was Ireland’s dominance, they looked capable of scoring on each attack. And that’s more or less how it played out, with the visitors squeezing eight tries into the opening 40 minutes as they cruised into a 54-0 lead. O’Connell’s men had the scoreboard moving with less than a minute on the clock, the try a product of Crowley’s bright start. The Munster out-half had clever involvements, with his chip in behind inviting McCloskey to chase, with the Ulster man able to get onto the ball and bash over. Crowley converted from the sideline. The second arrived approaching the 10-minute mark. Ireland won a lineout at the front through Tom Ahern and Portugal were too slow to react. Ireland captain Craig Casey moved the ball to Gavin with a sharp, flat pass and the Connacht man burst through to mark his first cap with a try. Crowley stepped up to make it two from two off the tee. Tempers flare between Ireland's Thomas Clarkson and Nicolas Martins and Hugo Camacho of Portugal.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Moments later Crowley had the tee in his hands again, nice work by Jimmy O’Brien setting up his Leinster teammate Tommy O’Brien, who raced down the wing to score. It took just one minute for Ireland to strike again, debutant Bolton winning a ball in the air and dodging a couple of tackles to open a straight route to the tryline. Crowley converted and Ireland had four tries in the opening 13 minutes. Portugal’s best moment of the half arrived at the end of the opening quarter. Centre Vincent Pinto did well to step free and pass to his fullback, Nuno Sousa Guedes, who then stepped Tommy O’Brien to score. Portugal’s celebrations were cut short as the try was crossed off due to a forward pass, yet the move offered a glimpse at what the hosts could do with ball in hand. Portugal then lost captain Tomás Appleton to a serious-looking injury, leading to a lengthy break before the centre left on a stretcher. Referee Adam Leal wanted to check a potential croc roll on Appleton, but lost communication with the TMO – an issue that would remain for the rest of the contest. After a visit to the sideline Leal was satisfied there was no foul play, but asked both captains to be patient with the officials in their new TMO-less world. Ireland kicked back into gear to score try number five, and again it was good quick, clinical play after Ahern claimed another McCarthy throw at the lineout – with Ireland having lost the previous one – before Crowley played the final pass to Tommy O’Brien. Crowley converted from close range. Clarkson was the next man over, nice hands from Prendergast sending the Leinster prop through to finish a score that started with a quick-tap Casey penalty and included a strong carry from Gavin. Crowley continued his 100% record with the boot. Crowley was 12 from 15 off the tee.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO An Ahern turnover put the ball back in Ireland’s hands and Casey sent a kick deep into the Portugal half, with a 50:22 on. The ball landed in the backfield and the impressive Bolton used his speed to win the race and score, with Portugal again too slow to react. Crowley missed off the tee for the first time. Gavin grabbed his second try of the game at the end of the half. McCarthy broke from a maul, Casey found McCloskey, and the centre showed great hands to hit his midfield partner and send Gavin through for Ireland’s eighth try, with Crowley converting. Advertisement Ireland opened the second half with an end-to-end score, Casey taking the ball to the line before Bolton ate up ground with strong running. Ireland created an overlap and a straight pass to Casey allowed the Ireland captain run it home, with Crowley converting. The next try came from a well-worked set piece play, Clarkson throwing a lineout short to Jack Boyle, before Prendergast came in on the shortside to collect a Darragh Murray pass and score, with Portugal unable to get a hand on the Connacht man. Crowley’s conversion sailed well wide. Then, finally, Portugal got their score, and it was a good one. Manuel Cardoso Pinto cut through and then great pace and hands from Vincent Pinto out flanker Nicolas Martins over, with Hugo Aubry converting. The home crowd celebrated but their team would be unable to build on that rare moment of quality. Ireland responded with another well-executed score, Casey measuring a fine pass out to Nash, who got over in the corner. Crowley couldn’t convert from a difficult angle. Shayne Bolton impressed on debut.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Nash was getting plenty of ball, and the Munster wing beat a tackle and offloaded to Ciarán Frawley, who produced a clever show-and-go to cut through and score. Crowley nailed the conversion. Prendergast then went bursting forward before passing to Casey off his shoulder. The Ireland captain was unselfish, carrying the ball before playing it back to Prendergast, who went over, with Crowley converting. Chasing the 100-point mark, Ireland kept the foot down. Ahern claimed a lineout at the top, Ireland’s maul moved into action and Alex Kendellen got his name on the scoresheet, Crowley kicking another two to extend his own tally. Replacement scrum-half Ben Murphy finished the score which left Ireland one short of the 100 points, following a move full of smart offloading. With the clock in the red Ireland had one last chance to score, and as a maul pushed in the corner, referee Leal awarded a penalty try to Ireland, handing the visitors their 16th try of a game they controlled with total comfort from start to finish. Portugal scorers: Try – Martins Conversion – Aubry Ireland scorers: Tries – McCloskey, Gavin [2], Tommy O’Brien [2], Bolton [2], Clarkson, Casey, Prendergast [2], Nash, Frawley, Kendellen, Murphy, Penalty try. Conversions – Crowley [12/15] PORTUGAL: N Sousa Guedes; S Bento, V Pinto, T Appleton (capt) (G Aviragnet 20) (F Almeida 32), M C Pinto; H Aubry, H Camacho (A Campos 54); D Costa (P S Lopes 56), L Begic (A Cunha 56), D H Ferreira (G Costa 56); A R Andrade (M Souto 50), P Ferreira; D Wallis, N Martins, D Pinheiro (V Baptista 62). IRELAND: J O’Brien; T O’Brien (C Nash 52), H Gavin, S McCloskey (C Frawley 51), S Bolton; J Crowley, C Casey (capt) (B Murphy 61); J Boyle (M Milne 51), G McCarthy (T Stewart, 51), T Clarkson (T O’Toole 51); T Ahern, D Murray (C Izuchukwu 59); R Baird (M Deegan 51), A Kendellen, C Prendergast. 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