Rugby in the Philippines

[Headroom]

The Philippines beats the UAE 24 - 8 and remains in the Asian Premier Rugby Division in 2014.

 

Match report to follow.

[Headroom]

A spot.ph segment on the Philippines v. UAE with pics:

 

 

http://www.spot.ph/peopleparties/53460/scenes-from-the-philippine-volcanoes-win-against-uae

[Headroom]

Volcanoes training camp for Rugby World Cup Sevens begins

06/03/2013

 

The Philippine Volcanoes begin their training camp in preparation for the Philippine National Team's debut at the Rugby World Cup Sevens.

 

An initial squad of 23 players has gathered at the Acacia Hotel, the team's official residence, under the guidance of National Men's Sevens Coach, Al Caravelli. The team will be trimmed down midway through the camp before they depart for Russia at the end of the month.

Philippine Volcanoes RWC Sevens Training Squad:

 

Alexander Aronson

Tim Bweheni

Mark Chatting

Adam Clarke

Ryan Clarke

Justin Coveney

Chris Everingham

Chris Hitch

Gareth Holgate

Robert Jones

Jake Letts

Michael Letts

Sean Lynch

Joe Matthews

Luke Matthews

Harry Morris

Patrice Olivier

James Price

Ben Saunders

Matthew Saunders

Oliver Saunders

Kenneth Stern

Andrew Wolff

 

Head Coach: Al Caravelli

Team Manager: Matt Cullen

Physiotherapist: Chris Bailey

Asst Physiotherapists: Rico Barin | Antonette Gambito

 

The Philippines qualified for the Rugby World Cup Sevens by defeating South Korea in the RWC7s qualifiers in November 2012. Other than the Philippines, Japan and Hong Kong are the only Asian countries participating in the RWC7s.

 

The Rugby World Cup Sevens will be held from June 28-30 in Moscow, Russia. It is the world's premier international rugby sevens competition organised by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), and is contested by the world's top 24 men's national sevens teams every four years.

 

Rugby Sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of Rugby Union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is now recognized as an Olympic sport and will make its debut in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Edited June 3, 2013 by Headroom

[Headroom]

Match Report for the Test Match against UAE:

 

 

size="5"]Debutantes Philippines retain hold on Top 5 spot[/size]

05/20/2013

 

Asian5Nations.com: The Philippines maintained their coveted spot in the HSBC Asian 5 Nations (HSBC A5N) Top 5 competition today in Manila after beating the United Arab Emirates in a close-run encounter 24-8. The Volcanoes outscored the UAE by four tries to one to become one of the few teams to maintain their spot in a higher grade after being promoted as last season’s Division I champions.

 

The UAE will be relegated to next year’s Division I competition and be replaced by Sri Lanka, winner of the 2013 Division I tournament. Next year’s Top 5 will serve as the direct qualifier for Rugby World Cup 2015 with the overall winner advancing to the world championships, while the runners-up will take place in an inter-continental repechage match.

 

Playing in front of a record 5,700 people, the highest ever match attendance at a rugby game in the Philippines, the Volcanoes jumped out to a 5-0 lead after flanker Christopher Hitch scored the opening try in the 10th minute crashing over from a scrum at the five-metre line.

 

Moments later, winger Gareth Holgate crossed over for the Volcanoes second try of the first half, which was successfully converted by flyhalf Alexander Aronson to bring the scores to 12-0.

 

The UAE quickly regained its shape and the momentum subtly shifted to the visitors as they forced the Volcanoes into making mistakes. The Philippines conceded three penalty chances within three minutes at the mid-way point of the first half, but UAE flyhalf Andrew Russell couldn’t convert on any of the long-range opportunities.

 

In the 39th minute, UAE captain and openside flanker Renier Els capped off a tireless first half with a well-deserved try to pull UAE back into the fray at 12-5.

 

The second half saw UAE continue pressing with positive results as Russell converted a penalty attempt in the41st minute to edge UAE closer at 8-12. Further opportunity for the visitors was created by a sin-bin to Volcanoes hooker Graeme Hagan but the UAE couldn’t make the man advantage tell.

 

The game remained tight at 12-8 until the 58th minute when Hagan returned to the field to score a vital try and put the Volcanoes ahead at 19-8 after Aronson’s conversion.

 

A tense final quarter was disrupted by a temporary power outage in the last five minutes with the game stopped for ten minutes before play could resume. When the match was re-started the Volcanoes closed out the scoring for good with a try in the 79th minute to reserve back Matt Saunders.

 

UAE coach Duncan Hall commented after the game saying, “We’re disappointed to be relegated for the first time since 2009 but fair play to the Philippines they did well. We suffered in the humid conditions as we are used to a dry heat in Dubai. The ball became hard for us to manage and we turned it over 14 times in the first half through handling errors. We gave them too much possession at the end of the day.

 

“We now need to review where we are at and plan how we return to the Top 5 from Division I next year. But with the average age of our squad at 33 years old, we are still going to face the same challenges we did this year. We will need to identify some new younger players now and work intensively with them over the next 12 months.”

 

A delighted Volcanoes coach Jarred Hodges credited the crowd for helping to give his team the edge in a tight match, saying: “the atmosphere was electric tonight and that really helped us lift our game. We are thrilled to be staying up in the top flight but most importantly we now know what it takes to compete at this level. We understand that we have a lot to work on in the coming 12 months to see how we can move one win in the campaign to two or three next year.”

 

Philippines captain and fullback Michael Letts was equally pleased with the result saying, “We did just enough to retain our spot which was the ultimate goal. Now we want to continue to build as a team. With the Volcanoes also taking part in the Rugby World Cup Sevens in June, and being the first Philippines team sport to play in a world championship, the profile and awareness of the game is going to grow from rapidly in the Philippines.”

 

In today’s other match, South Korea cemented their spot as number two in Asia behind Japan after they stormed to a 43-22 victory over Hong Kong in Ansan on Saturday. The Philippines will join HSBC A5Nchampions Japan, second placed side South Korea, third seeds Hong Kong and fifth seeds Sri Lanka for the kick-off of the Top 5 next April.

[Headroom]

Volcanoes training camp for Rugby World Cup Sevens begins

06/03/2013

 

 

The Philippine Volcanoes begin their training camp in preparation for the Philippine National Team's debut at the Rugby World Cup Sevens.

 

An initial squad of 23 players has gathered at the Acacia Hotel, the team's official residence, under the guidance of National Men's Sevens Coach, Al Caravelli. The team will be trimmed down midway through the camp before they depart for Russia at the end of the month.

Philippine Volcanoes RWC Sevens Training Squad:

Alexander Aronson

Tim Bweheni

Mark Chatting

Adam Clarke

Ryan Clarke

Justin Coveney

Chris Everingham

Chris Hitch

Gareth Holgate

Robert Jones

Jake Letts

Michael Letts

Sean Lynch

Joe Matthews

Luke Matthews

Harry Morris

Patrice Olivier

James Price

Ben Saunders

Matthew Saunders

Oliver Saunders

Kenneth Stern

Andrew Wolff

 

Head Coach: Al Caravelli

Team Manager: Matt Cullen

Physiotherapist: Chris Bailey

Asst Physiotherapists: Rico Barin | Antonette Gambito

 

The Philippines qualified for the Rugby World Cup Sevens by defeating South Korea in the RWC7s qualifiers in November 2012. Other than the Philippines, Japan and Hong Kong are the only Asian countries participating in the RWC7s.

 

The Rugby World Cup Sevens will be held from June 28-30 in Moscow, Russia. It is the world's premier international rugby sevens competition organised by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), and is contested by the world's top 24 men's national sevens teams every four years.

 

Rugby Sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of Rugby Union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is now recognized as an Olympic sport and will make its debut in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

[Headroom]

Philippine Volcanoes Rugby team seeks glory in Rugby 7s World Cup

 

Read the article and see the pictures at:

 

 

http://ph.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/thepassionatefan/philippine-volcanoes-rugby-team-seeks-glory-rugby-7s-105425501.html

[Headroom]

Finally: recognition from the Philippine Sports Commission.

 

 

 

PSC counting on Volcanoes to deliver rare Asian Games medal

 

By Karlo Sacamos June 20, 2013, 05:35 pm

 

THE Philippine Sports Commission believes rugby is among the team sports that can land the country a podium finish in next year’s Asian Games in South Korea.

 

The PSC is so confident that the country’s sports policy-making, coordinating, and funding body has been allotting a bigger budget for the Volcanoes than some of the team sports ahead of the quadrennial continental showpiece competition in September 2014.

 

“We are investing in rugby, (because) when you look at team sports, rugby is a sport where we are at least sure of a medal,” PSC commissioner Jolly Gomez said on Wednesday when he graced the press launch of the Volcanoes’ Rugby World Cup Sevens campaign in Russia next week.

 

Rugby sevens is played in the Asian Games and the Philippines didn’t field a squad in the 2010 edition, where Japan and Hong Kong finished with a gold and silver medal. South Korea, the bronze medalist, is a squad the Volcanoes have beaten last year in the qualifiers for the World Cup Sevens.

 

Gomez said the PSC has an annual budget of P7 million for rugby.

 

“It is actually more than what we give softball and baseball. It’s even more than we give SBP (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas) for basketball," said Gomez. “That’s how much the PSC knows there’s a lot of potential in rugby."

 

Volcanoes coach Al Caravelli, however, said funds from current sponsors are still not enough for the team to get the desired international exposure. On average, the Volcanoes play in only four tournaments a year whereas Samoa plays a minimum of 12, according to Caravelli.

 

Samoa, ranked fourth in the world in sevens, is among the Volcanoes’ opponents in the World Cup Sevens group stage that kicks off on June 28 in Moscow.

 

“We need more resources so that we could play in more tournaments. Samoa plays a minimum of 12 tournaments a year,” Caravelli said. “Their (Samoa’s) player with the least amount of sevens caps has more than all of our guys’ put together.”

 

Now the third-ranked sevens squad in Asia, the Volcanoes are out to prove their worth in the World Cup, which features the 24 best teams in the world. Aside from Samoa, the Filipinos will have to contend with Kenya and Zimbabwe in Pool C.

 

Gomez is hoping the development of the Volcanoes would be similar to that of the national football team. He revealed that the head of a top international sneaker brand told him that sales of football shoes “increased by 7,000 times” in the country, thanks largely to the Azkals phenomenon.

 

“That’s phenomenal. It’s never happened before,” the commissioner said, adding that most of the shoes that are getting out of stock are children’s shoes.

 

“There are many people now playing because of the success of the Azkals. And I know with the success of the Volcanoes, there are going to be more kids that will start playing rugby.”

[Headroom]

Link to an article on the Volcanoes upcoming World Cup campaign

 

 

 

Your guide to the Volcanoes' Rugby World Cup 7s campaign

 

BY EXPO MEJIA

 

http://www.rappler.com/sports/specials/311-team-pilipinas/31584-your-guide-to-the-volcanoes-rugby-7s-world-cup-campaign

[Headroom]

This is on the Rugby World Cup 7's website:

 

http://www.rwcsevens.com/men/news/newsid=2067628.html#al+caravelli+batting+pinoys

 

Al Caravelli: Batting for the Pinoys

 

(IRB.COM) Wednesday 26 June 2013

 

Former USA Sevens coach Al Caravelli is currently in charge of the Philippines and, having helped them qualify for a first ever World Cup, he is looking forward to seeing his players compete on the highest stage in Moscow. Here he writes exclusively for rwcsevens.com.

These Philippines players really are history boys - they make up the first team ever to represent their country in a World Cup event, and that is a wonderful achievement for them.

Just before we left to come to Moscow, the team received an award for the 'national sports team of the year'. We haven't even competed yet, but already we have a sense of how much it means to the nation as a whole..

 

It's an opportunity, not only on the pitch but away from it. The players and administrators at the union have been working with schools and orphanages to introduce Sevens and it’s amazing to see the enjoyment that it brings, but also how quickly the children pick up the sport. A lot of that is down to the similarities with basketball - the Philippines loves it’s basketball - but also Sevens is easier to grasp than 15s.

 

Our final preparations for the World Cup began when the squad got together on 2 June with 24 players. We reduced that number to 14 on the 13 June and our final 12 was announced six days later. The players have not been to any World Series events, with the exception of Hong Kong in 2012, so they are really relishing the challenge in front of them.

Not only are these players not full-time rugby players, they've also had to pay their own way to attend our selection and preparation camps, which just goes to underline their commitment.

Playing for every Pinoy

Once we're in Moscow and out there on the pitch, we want the Philippine nation and all Pinoys to be proud of our efforts regardless of the score line.

 

We play Samoa and Kenya in our pool, ranked fourth and fifth in the world, and Zimbabwe, one of the strongest in the next tier of nations. It's just about the toughest draw we could have got but the boys are extremely excited about getting the opportunity to test themselves against the world’s best.

That is what Rugby Sevens is all about, and that is what a World Cup is all about: giving a nation like us a chance to be on that stage, with nothing to lose and everything to gain. We believe we should be here.

We have never played Kenya, who are a quality team, very fit and strong as well as being well coached. Samoa finished fourth in the Series last year and Zimbabwe beat us in the last play of the game where we faced them in Hong Kong. So we are eyes wide open, focused on our performance and on improving each and every aspect of our game.

A life less ordinary

While we are still very new to international rugby, we are learning every day and improving constantly. What a team like the Philippines needs now is a second division to the World Series. The Asian Sevens Series is excellent - I believe every region should have such a series, as does Europe - but a true promotion / relegation format for the World Series would give a team like us even more competition, which can only be a good thing.

For me, I must say that my time with the Philippines so far has been a wonderful experience, both personally and professionally. Coaching the US on the World Series was a different kettle of fish and I have grown and learned a lot from the set-up at the PRFU, from the players and the staff.

 

I think the whole experience has re-invigorated me and inspired me to compete and to coach. We don’t have a lot of resources, so it’s been back to basics, to the fundamentals in all aspects on and off the field, which blend into the same thing after a while.

 

It's been a rollercoaster, and one you want to stay on for the ride!

[Headroom]

A link to the New Zealand "All Blacks" Website discussing a training run they did with the Philippine Volcanoes....

 

http://www.allblacks.com/index.cfm?layout=displaynews&newsArticle=22591

 

Moscow, minnows and Red Square

 

It was a day when David met Goliath and everyone ended up smiling. All Blacks Sevens v the Philippine Volcanoes; who would have thought, but in the shadow of the giant Luzhniki Olympic Stadium, the two teams poles apart in the world of sevens, had a rare training hit out.

 

The Volcanoes made history when they qualified for their first ever World Cup – and the first World Cup in any team event for the country going on for some 50 years they say.

 

What better preparation than taking on the All Blacks Sevens. A country with just 13 clubs, 1400 players.

 

"Awesome," said Mike Letts, Volcanoes captain.

 

"It’s like the Filipino basketball team coming up against the USA 'dream team'. The boys are very excited, I am sure status updates on facebook for the guys will be saying ‘dream come true’ sort of thing. They are the best side in the world at the moment and they are all humble blokes so that makes it that much sweeter."

 

Funny thing, in the team plenty of Australian, French and Welsh accents - all players have Filipino mothers and play professional rugby in Japan. Coached by former USA coach Ali Caravelli and good enough to impress Sir Gordon Tietjens.

 

"They had to qualify to make the RWC Sevens so they go in with a lot of confidence and I certainly saw a lot qualities the Filipinos had. The funny thing about this game is that on any given day, any team can beat any team and you take your opportunities.

 

"For us, it was a good hit out, playing one of the sides at Rugby World Cup. We showed some good touches today, but at the same time it doesn’t matter what level any team is they can still expose you in certain areas and they are our work ons.

 

"We have another game against Scotland on Wednesday and they can be very tough so we can iron a few things out and hopefully a good three sessions against them."

 

For young rising sevens star Gillies Kaka who made the IRB Sevens Dream Team this season, Moscow is pretty special.

 

"It’s an awesome honour and just humbled to get the opportunity to play in the World Cup so really looking forward to it and it’s a great chance to stamp for next year as well."

 

And a chance to see another side of the world – the All Blacks Sevens and New Zealand Women’s Sevens teams made it to Red Square for their team photos.

 

Captain DJ Forbes: "I don’t think many of the boys would think of playing here let alone enjoying the sights. Hopefully we can top it off with a big weekend.

 

"It’s part and parcel of the rugby we play so it’s great that we can make most of these opportunities."

 

And the women nailed their photo just in time before Moscow Police moved them on.

 

"It’s beautiful, the architecture is amazing,” said Linda Itunu. "I feel really privileged to be here."

Edited June 28, 2013 by Headroom

[Headroom]

Game times for the Philippine Volcanoes this weekend in the World Cup. To watch them live you will have to stream them on the internet.

 

Times for Philippines 7's games. (Manila time)

 

Friday:

vs Kenya 19:22

 

Saturday:

vs Samoa 13:00

vs Zimbabwe 17.24

[Headroom]

More Rugby Rules:

Edited July 1, 2013 by Headroom

[Headroom]

Watch the finals of the Super 15's Rugby competition on Setanta - teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

[Headroom]

Get down to see Game 2 for the development team against Hing Kong. Southern Plains this Saturday July 27th at 3pm

 

Philippine Development Team Push Hong Kong

 

The Philippine National Development Team led by Jon Morales showed that local talent here in the Philippines can match it with their regional neighbors when they narrowly lost to Hong Kong 36 - 30.

 

In one of the best games of the year, both development teams played in wet conditions and displayed exceptional skills to run in ten tries in an arm wrestle that went down to the last minute.

 

The Philippines took a halftime lead into the game by 11 - 5 with Nomads flyer "Phil Sinclair" scoring a classic wingers try to open the game. Hong Kong then gave up two penalties that were converted by Rupert Zappia.

 

The second half saw the Hong Kong team step up the pace and the game hung in the balance when Tim Bweheni beat three defenders to take an 18 - 17 lead. Hong Kong then scored three unanswered tries to lead 30 - 18 and the game looked to be sewn up for Hong Kong.

 

Coach Matt Cullen then replaced several of the tiring Filipino players with fresh legs and a number of local players made their debut for the Philippines. The replacements played above themselves to claw back into the game and the Philippines scored two late tries to trail by 36 - 30. Replacement players Jay Coronel and Mark Bulacan both showed they can compete at the International Level and led the comeback with some fierce defense.

 

The final whistle blew and the Philippines were pushing Hong Kong to limit to defend their slight lead.

 

Game two in the International Development Series will take place at Southern Plains this Saturday July 27th at 3pm and the Philippine team will be eager to start where they left off in yesterday's game.

[Headroom]

The latest tournament - results to follow

[rebeck]

Nice to see a rugby thread here.

 

Thanks for the updates, sir headroom

[Headroom]

No problems Rebeck....

 

I just wish more people would visit and ask questions or visit the games....

 

Anyways I'm about to post the lastest results from Thailand for the 7's....

[Headroom]

The Volcanoes won the Plate (Division 2) at the 7's in Thailand - check below for the details:

 

http://ph.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/thepassionatefan/philippine-volcanoes-wins-plate-competition-thailand-rugby-sevens-120031286.html

[Headroom]

The Lady Volcanoes also competed in Thailand - see below for the Ladies vs. Chinese Taipei:

 

 

 

Also have a look at some pics of the Ladies:

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.650792144945608.1073741838.124179747606853&type=1

[Headroom]

Details of the Philippine Junior Tournament:

 

CBRE/Get into Rugby Juniors Tournament for the Month of September - pics and a report at:

 

http://www.prfu.com/1/post/2013/09/cbreget-into-rugby-juniors-tournament-for-the-month-of-september.html#.UkqFphyt90M

 

 

To know more about this tournament or to join a junior club - contact Acee San Juan at aceesanjuan@prfu.com

[Headroom]

Creating Coaches for the future of Rugby in the Philippines:

 

http://www.prfu.com/1/post/2013/10/prfu-holds-irb-level-1-and-level-2-coaching-course-at-cebu-international-school.html#.UkqHNByt90N

[ootd]

Did Rugby 101 training a few months back. Ended up in bed rest for 4 days. I'm 6'0 200 lbs pero parang wala lang yun even for those smaller than me.

[Headroom]

Did Rugby 101 training a few months back. Ended up in bed rest for 4 days. I'm 6'0 200 lbs pero parang wala lang yun even for those smaller than me.

 

If you don't mind me asking why did you need the bed rest?

[Headroom]

Volcanoes off to India for Mumbai 7s[/size]

 

The Men's team is off to India - working around the 7's world circuit.

 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/329915/sports/othersports/rugby-volcanoes-off-to-india-for-mumbai-7s

[Headroom]

napanood ko pa yung 0-124 ba yon vs. japan

embarassing naman yon

 

Not really - it was the Philippines first time in the elite division AND they were not relegated so they are in the same division next year. You have to remember not too many years ago that Japan was losing to other teams by similar score lines.

 

A number of years ago the Philippines beat Brunei 101 to 0.

 

It's all about the experience at the moment and considering that the Philippines only started playing rugby internationally in 2006 the way the team has moved forward in the last 7 years is amazing.