When teams think about a sports tour, the focus naturally falls on what happens on the pitch.

Training sessions, friendly matches, tactical work and performance goals tend to shape the way a tour is planned and evaluated. These are, after all, the visible parts of the experience. They are measurable, structured and easy to define.

But ask players a few months later what they remember most, and the answers are often different.

They talk about the moments between sessions.

For many people around the world, the haka is first encountered through rugby.

The image is familiar: the New Zealand team stands in formation before kick-off, players stomp their feet, slap their bodies, widen their eyes and chant in unison while facing their opponents. The atmosphere changes immediately. What might have felt like an ordinary sporting event suddenly feels more serious, more symbolic and more emotionally charged.

Yet the haka is far older and far more meaningful than a pre-match ritual in rugby.

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There is a moment just before kick-off, when the atmosphere feels different.

The warm-up is sharper. The noise is louder. Every touch of the ball carries a little more weight. Players are more alert, supporters more engaged. Even those watching from a distance sense that this is not just another game.

It is a rivalry.

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The 18th edition of the Dove Men+Care Portugal Rugby Youth Festival, organised by Move Sports, once again brought together the global rugby community in Lisbon for a weekend defined by competition, connection and shared experience.

Across two intense and vibrant days, the festival welcomed around 3,400 athletes, representing 119 teams from 12 countries: Portugal, Wales, Gibraltar, Belgium, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Scotland, Ireland and England.

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