If France 2023 was the field of dreams, then the Springboks weren't the only ones to have conquered the countryside and stolen the hearts of the locals.
Portugal, who entered the World Cup via the back door, became the tournament's great entertainers - the underdogs that rose to prominence and captured the hearts of millions worldwide.
But to continue their journey upwards in the world rugby rankings may be a challenge, even against a Springbok side in Bloemfontein this weekend that has seven debutants in their squad.
To be fair, few people expect Portugal to win, or even run the Springboks close.
But they know the only way they can get better is to play the bigger sides.
And that means coming into the middle of South Africa, in front of a sold-out crowd, and taking on the World Champions in their own back yard.
Portugal are in town and Bloemfontein plays host to a historic first Test match against the Springboks on Saturday 🇿🇦🇵🇹
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 18, 2024
📺 Build-Up: 16:00 | Kick-Off: 17:00 | SS Rugby pic.twitter.com/7erpd1HcZt
Thus far this week there has been a festival atmosphere surrounding the Portuguese in Bloemfontein.
A business conference has been set up with Portuguese businesses showcasing their wares, a stall with Portuguese goods is at the local mall and busloads of local South African Portuguese fans are on their way to Bloemfontein to add some vocal support to the team before they get onto the field.
The jokes have been writing themselves this week with the thought of a Portuguese influx - with some local Portuguese supporters even warning that the Spar supermarkets around the country are likely to be closed this weekend as their owners head to Bloemfontein to take in the game.
But how big is the task for Portugal? And just how much is riding on the line for them?
It is fair to say they have a weight on their shoulders that is far different to the expectation of the Springboks. It is the constant cry of trying to prove yourself to the World.
And with the World test League on the horizon - a concept that would exclude sides like Portugal, the world is watching to see if their heroics at the World Cup were a once-off, or if they can back it up?
INCREDIBLE TALE OF PASSION
But the fairytale to qualify for the World Cup should not be forgotten.
Portugal initially didn't qualify, but thanks to some administrative errors by World Rugby got that second chance they needed, and boy did they take it.
Under the tutelage of former French international Patrice Lagisquet they slowly built the Wolves into a formidable force, and gave Portugal their first victory - and arguably the biggest upset of the World Cup in 2023.
Built on the backbone of a core group that play professional rugby in France, and others who are amateur or semi-professional, Portugal are a mostly crew of lawyers, architects, a dentist and several other craftsmen who could only dream of the Springboks' professional contracts and money they earn.
They qualified the long hard way - starting with a narrow loss to Brazil (26-24) and then a win over Chile (23-18) to give the team their first win under Lagisquet.
"These matches gave me a clearer idea of the potential and, above all, the capacity of this team to train," he told World Rugby.
"We only started off with young players, especially the U20s. We were missing a lot of the best Portuguese players who were tied up with their leagues. As they were amateurs, they couldn't take time off work either."
Covid struck and made it more difficult, but through the Lusitanos, the Portuguese franchise that contested the European Super Cup, they started to make inroads, and Os Lobos - as the national team are affectionately known - started their journey to greatness.
"The Lusitanos are coached by the national team staff, a bit like the Georgians. And that has enabled us to make a lot of progress with the amateur players who were playing in Portugal," Lagisquet said in the same interview.
"For example, in November 2021, we played Canada, and it was the first time Portugal had beaten Canada (20-17). There were 21 players on the match sheet who were born in Portugal; we played mostly with the Lusitanos base."
BACKDOOR QUALIFICATION
Portugal would have mixed fortunes on their way to the World Cup qualification tournament in Dubai, but rose to the occasion to beat Hong Kong China, and then Kenya before their heroic kicker Samuel Marques kicked a penalty in the dying minutes against the USA to draw the match and knock Gary Gold's side out of the World Cup.
Os Lobos had booked their place in an extremely tough Pool C against Wales, Georgia, Australia and Fiji.
With financial and logistical support from World Rugby, the excitement and momentum continued, as they won five of their seven warm-up matches en route to the 2023 tournament, including a 46-20 win over USA, the side they had drawn with 12 months previously.
They held Wales to 7-3 for a half hour but eventually lost 28-8 in their opening game, but it gave them the confidence they could compete against the bigger sides.
And yet, not bowed, they headed to Toulouse to face Georgia, in a game that would capture the world's attention.
Georgia looked to be on the path to victory before Portugal rallied to grab a last-gasp 18-all draw.
Portugal gave us some memorable moments at last year's Rugby World Cup 🇵🇹👏 pic.twitter.com/LcYP3wYWDZ
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 17, 2024
"Georgia was a match we could have won, and there too we lacked a little bit of control at the end of the match," Lagisquet said afterwards, but felt game management was lacking.
"For the second match, I thought it was settled, that the players had dealt with the problem of emotion, but in fact they hadn't, because in Toulouse there was an even greater atmosphere, with even more Portuguese supporters. During the anthems, the players were a little overwhelmed by emotion and they missed the first half and the start of the second."
PLANETS ALIGNED
A loss to the Wallabies 38-14 - where Eddie Jones was under fire - left them with one final game against Fiji on 8 October - a day that Portuguese rugby will never forget.
As Lagisquet put it, the planets suddenly aligned.
"The emotions, the experience, the right choices to score at the end, the mental capacity to manage the end of the match", he recalled.
"We competed in the contest, we had a defence that was well in place, and we managed to counter the Fijian system. We quickly realised that our strategy was working, and so we told ourselves that we had something to play for."
Portugal beat the mighty Fijians 24-23 in a game that captured the hearts of many.
But Lagisquet, who left the team afterwards, told World Rugby that unless the side becomes professional, they are unlikely to move forward.
"The big problem with Portuguese rugby is that it is amateur," observes Lagisquet.
"And the only way to make it evolve and have the ambition to ensure that the level of performance continues to improve is to have a professional team in Portugal, and that means the Lusitanos becoming a professional team.
"If you look at Fiji's progress, for example, that's exactly what I mean. Fiji have players who play professionally in France. And they have the Fijian Drua (the Super Rugby Pacific franchise) which allows them to play at a very good level.
"And all that has enabled them to build a team that performs better and more consistently than they did before.
"We need the same thing for Portugal. The Lusitanos need to become professionals, who will play in the Super Cup and even try to play in a European Cup so that they have enough competition and players who are sufficiently prepared for international level.
"And we still need to continue to develop the skills of the best players, the best young Portuguese in French rugby by being professionals in France so that we have a sufficient professional base to continue to progress."
NEW COACH
Lagisquet has now left the side, and in charge is a New Zealander, Simon Mannix, the ex Hurricanes, Sale and Gloucester player who coached at Racing 92 and Munster before taking the Portuguese mentor role.
And Portugal have had a rocky road since the World Cup, losing to Belgium and Georgia in the Rugby Europe competition while beating Poland, Spain and Romania in their only internationals since the World Cup.
Last weekend they scored a 37-22 win over Namibia in Windhoek to show they aren't going to be pushovers in Bloemfontein this weekend.
They scored five tries in the process and have dangerous players like midfielder Jose Lima, winger Rodrigo Marta and flanker Joao Granate who can cause the Boks problems.
While the occasion may be the biggest thing for Portuguese rugby, they are likely to try and dig deep to put up a performance that shows their World Cup was no fluke, and that they belong in the big leagues.
But even against a young Bok squad, that may be too much to ask.
A win over Fiji and a draw against Georgia at #RWC2023 🔥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 17, 2024
Portugal's next big hurdle is a Test match in Bloemfontein against the World Champions 😤🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/SDZqMInMNn