RUGBYU-WC-2023-PORTUGAL-PHOTOESSAY

Young players in action during a training session of the Direito's Summer Academy 2023 in Lisbon, on July 11, 2023.Grupo Desportivo Direito was founded in 1952 in Lisbon by a group of university students from the Lisbon's Law School. Direito is the club that provides the highest number of players for professional teams, including the national rugby team. Despite not having professional players in its squad, Grupo Desportivo de Direito was national champion in several age groups in the 2022/2023 season, including the top senior level. Every year a summer academy is held with the aim of introducing rugby to the younger age groups and developing skills in the areas of rugby motor skills, game understanding, personal and social development. Ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France, Agence France-Presse asked 20 aspiring photographers from each country qualified for the competition to show one aspect of the rugby union culture in their homeland, with the help of Canon cameras who are sponsoring the tournament. From Namibia to Fiji via Georgia and Scotland this photo essay gives us a glimpse of the core values of rugby on five continents. (Photo by André DIAS NOBRE / AFP) (Photo by ANDRE DIAS NOBRE/AFP via Getty Images)