Rugby and Contact
Rugby (o râguebi) is a high-contact sport. In Portuguese, two similar-sounding expressions describe moving toward something, but they have completely opposite meanings: one is for meeting, and the other is for crashing.
| Rugby is a very violent sport. | O râguebi é um desporto muito violento. |
| Our attack in this game was quite aggressive. | O nosso ataque neste jogo foi bastante agressivo. |
Ao encontro de (Convergence)
Use ao encontro de when someone moves towards another person to meet, help, or agree with them. Because it ends with the preposition de, it contracts with following definite articles (do, da, dos, das).
| I went to meet the coach to speak with him. | Fui ao encontro do treinador para falar com ele. |
| The captain ran to meet the opponent to help him. | O capitão correu ao encontro do adversário para o ajudar. |
De encontro a (Collision)
Use de encontro a when things physically crash or ideas clash. Because it ends with the preposition a, it contracts with following definite articles (ao, à, aos, às).
| The player ran against the opponent and they collided. | O jogador correu de encontro ao adversário e eles chocaram. |
| I was distracted and I bumped into the coach! | Estava distraído e fui de encontro ao treinador! |
| In other words, the car crashed into the tree. | Por outras palavras, o carro foi de encontro à árvore. |
Surviving the Game
When players go de encontro a each other on the field, the result is usually a tackle (a placagem), knocking someone down (derrubar), or occasionally, someone bleeding (sangrar).
| It is good that he makes the tackle to knock down the opponent. | É bom que ele faça a placagem para derrubar o adversário. |
| The boy started to bleed after colliding with the door. | O rapaz começou a sangrar depois de chocar com a porta. |