- Tomaz Morais
Tomaz Eduardo Carvalho Morais (born in
6 April 1970 inLobito ,Angola ) is a Portugueserugby union coach and a former player.The son of Portuguese settlers in Angola, Morais moved to Portugal following the 25 April 1974 revolution. He went on to become a Physical Education teacher and a rugby union player, playing as a centre for Cascais. He took some time off from the sport because of his studies, but latter returned to play for Direito. He won 22 caps for
Portugal national rugby union team , before being forced to retire from rugby in 1996 due to a serious injury. He took the opportunity, however, to start a career as a rugby coach.He became the coach of the Portuguese national team in September 2001, and he went to won the European Nations Cup, for the first time, in 2004. The same year, he was nominated for the award of "Coach of the Year" by the IRB. In 2007, he led Portugal to their first
Rugby World Cup finals, after beating Uruguay over two legs. At the2007 Rugby World Cup finals, Portugal lost all four of their games, but scored in all of them, including a try in each one, and earned a bonus point in the 14-10 loss to Romania.He co-wrote the 2006 book "Compromisso : Nunca Desistir" ("A Commitment : To Never Give Up") with the journalist Carlos Mendonça.
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