Headroom Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 I think because it is a relatively new sport here in terms of exposure to Filipinos. While it has been played here by expats since at least 1914 there was only one club playing it - Nomad Sports Club which until rather recently was mainly frequented by expats. The Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) was established in 1999 but until about 2004, the PRFU activities were fairly limited as there was only one club – Nomads - playing rugby. There were no regular fixtures and the Club just played internal games, visiting military ships and occasional touring sides. Nomads also went on tours to other SE Asian countries to play. At that time, there was only one major tournament each year – the Manila 10’s which is a Nomads tournament, though this in itself has been an excellent vehicle for raising the visibility of Philippine’ rugby to clubs all around the World. The formation of other clubs allowed the PRFU to apply for more funding from the International Rugby Board (IRB) and start to try and spread rugby. There are a number of programs for rugby development in place now and the number of teams is growing - http://www.prfu.com/clubs--schools.html - this shows the clubs and schools now playing. Of course, probably the single biggest factor is Filipinos obsession with basketball which is present in every school, every town, every street - it will take some time to impact on that blanket coverage. The sport does continue to grow amongst Filipinos but the visibility is still low - that will change over time. http://www.prfu.com/1/post/2013/04/volcanoes-prepare-to-battle-asias-best.html An article on the upcoming game against Japan and pictures of the squad for this years test series. Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 Philippine team named for A5N match against Japan 04/18/2013 The Philippine Rugby Football Union is proud to announce the players who have been selected for Asian 5 Nations opening match against Japan. 1 Dacanay, Austin Garnica2 Duhig, Michael Estrada 3 Bellenie, Matthew Orag 4 Howorth, Steve Pagtalunan 5 Urquijo, Jaime Zobel 6 Carroll, Terrence Javier 7 Hitch, Chris Baltazar 8 Ward, Jake 9 Price, James Carandang 10 Holgate, Gareth dela Rosa 11 Matthews, Joseph Bembo 12 Coveney, Justin Villazor13 Saunders, Matthew Abalos14 Olivier, Patrice Ortiz15 Letts, Michael Robrigado16 Robinson-Polkey, David17 Hagan, Graeme18 Bautista, Joshua Che19 Feeney, David20 Seeto, Darran Centillas21 Letts, Jake Robrigado22 Aronson, Alexander23 Gregson, Jeff Blanco Head coach: Jarred HodgesTeam Manager: Phil GittusAsst coach: Stuart WoodhousePhysiotherapist: Christopher Bailey The match will be be played on Saturday, 20 April in Fukuoka, Japan at 1:00pm (Manila time). It will be telecast on Solar Sports and ESPN Star Sports Channels. The Asian 5 Nations is an annual international Rugby Union competition held between the top five Asian national rugby sides. The Philippines will face Japan, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and South Korea in a round-robin competition over five consecutive weekends throughout April and May 2013. 20 April 2013Japan v Philippines: Fukuoka, JapanHong Kong v United Arab Emirates: Hong Kong 26 April 2013United Arab Emirates v South Korea: Al Ain, Abu Dhabi 27 April 2013Hong Kong v Japan: Hong Kong 4 May 2013Japan v South Korea: Tokyo, JapanPhilippines v Hong Kong: Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila 10 May 2013United Arab Emirates v Japan: Dubai 11 May 2013South Korea v Philippines: Ansan, South Korea 18 May 2013South Korea v Hong Kong , Ansan, South KoreaPhilippines v United Arab Emirates: Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila The Asian 5 Nations represents the highest tier of international rugby in Asia and is Asia's qualifying tournament for the Rugby World Cup 2015. Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share Posted April 19, 2013 Preview: Volcanoes battle Japan Cherry Blossoms http://www.rappler.com/sports/26846-preview-volcanoes-battle-japan-cherry-blossoms HSBC A5N Top League Round 1: #1 Japan vs. #5 Philippines Kick-off 2:00pm (local time) Sanix Stadium – Fukuoka, Japan Telecast: 1:00pm on Solar Sports Channel and ESPN Star Sports Channel JAPAN CHERRY BLOSSOMS: 1. Masataka Mikami 2. Hiroki Yuhara 3. Hiroshi Yamashita 4. Hitoshi Ono 5. Shinya Makabe 6. Takashi Kikutani 7. Michael Broadhurst 8. Ryu Koliniasi Holani 9. Atsushi Hiwasa 10. Kosei Ono 11. Hirotoki Onazawa 12. Harumichi Tatekawa 13. Male Sau 14. Toshiaki Hirose © 15. Ayumu Goromaru. Reserves: 16. Yusuke Aoki 17. Takuma Asahara 18. Kensuke Hatakeyama 19. Shoji Ito 20. Justin Ives 21. Hendrik Tui 22. Yu Tamura 23. Kenki Fukuoka. Coach – Eddie Jones. PHILIPPINE VOLCANOES: 1. Austin Dacanay 2. Michael Duhig 3. Matt Bellenie 4. Steve Howorth 5. Jaime Urquijo 6. Terry Carroll 7. Chris Hitch 8. Jake Ward 9. James Price 10. Gaz Holgate 11. Joe Matthews 12. Justin Coveney 13. Matt Saunders 14. Patrice Olivier 15. Michael Letts ©. Rerserves:16. David Robinson-Polkey 17. Graeme Hagan 18. JC Bautista 19. David Feeney 20. Darran Seeto 21. Jake Letts 22. Alex Aronson 23. Jeff Gregson. Coach – Jarred Hodges. Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted April 22, 2013 Author Share Posted April 22, 2013 Well the Philippines certainly got a tough introduction to the top level of Asian Rugby. The Philippines were beaten 121 - nil although the score does not reflect all aspects of the game. 20 minutes in the score was 10 - nil to Japan, but two missed penalty opportunities could have seen the score sitting at 10 - 6. The Philippines had hardly any possession during the game and the huge amount of defensive work caught up with them towards the end. They certainly didn't give up and showed amazing courage. Only 7 of the Philippines team play rugby professionally whereas the whole of the Japanese team are professional. Next game May 4 here in Manila against Hong Kong.... Go the Volcanoes. Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 (edited) Spreading the rugby gospel - good on the Cebu Dragons Rugby Club. City Rugby Club goes to villages to train youngsters By Cheska D. Geli Tuesday, April 23, 2013 Sun.Star Cebu newspaper FROM schools, the Cebu City Rugby Club (CCRC) volunteers extend their program to the barangays, hoping to push the sport of rugby in the city. This Saturday, the group will hold a rugby clinic at Sandtrap, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., for the children of Barangay Cogon, Ramos. They expect close to 50 kids, aged 8 and above, to show up in the grassroots activity under the Visayas Rugby Football Union. “Ang mga bata karon kay bakasyon man, walay klase so nakig-coordinate mi ug mga barangay (The kids are having their vacation now, so we’re coordinating with the barangays),” said Aiumi Ono of CCRC. Most of the kids are not aware of the sport and their main task is to introduce touch rugby in the different age groups. But for those aged 20 and above and want to learn full contact rugby, the group will be willing to accommodate them with the basics. Grassroots Ono, team captain of the Lady Dragons and VRFU grassroots officer, with other volunteers of the club, has been teaching kids from selected schools as part of their grassroots program. Abellana National School was its first adopted school to start its touch rugby clinic last year. Among the developments of the school is the creation of the city’s first junior rugby full contact team consisting of players aged 15-20 years old with three players now in the Lady Dragons. The team is now trained for its debut tournament in the last quarter in Manila. They also visited Little Angels’ Montessori last March and they have regular Wednesday clinic at Cebu International School. The group also reached out to community kids on Gen. Maxilom Ave. where they hold their sessions every other Saturday at an area near San Carlos Montessori. They encourage donors of the Share a Shoe Program for those willing to give out pairs of used but usable shoes for the community kids. Diversion Recently, they coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development for a clinic session at the Region 7 Rehabilitation Center for Youth. “We wanted to give them diversion. Most of them are tough and we taught them how to control their toughness in sports,” said Ono. They had a mini-touch rugby tournament last April 13 and will be back on May 4 for the final matches. Edited April 24, 2013 by Headroom Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 A basic overview of the game of rugby Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Rugby promotion amongst young Filipino children: http://www.prfu.com/1/post/2013/04/cbre-juniors-tournament-for-the-month-of-april.html Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Discounted tickets to the Philippines vs Hong Kong game. http://www.ensogo.com.ph/manila/philippine-volcanoes-04232013.html Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 Brave Hong Kong hold the line in 38-0 loss to Japan A brave and spirited defensive effort from Hong Kong frustrated Japan but was not enough to thwart the Asian champions from registering a second consecutive victory in the HSBC Asian Five Nations (HSBC A5N) Top Five competition at Hong Kong Football Club yesterday. Japan ran in six tries, four in the second half, to win a momentous struggle 38-0 and keep their unbeaten record in this tournament – now in its sixth year – clean. “It was a tough game, we expected it,” said Japan head coach Eddie Jones. “But what today’s performance showed was that we have a lot of work to do. This is after all only our second game this season.” Hong Kong deserved a lot of credit for a gutsy defence that held Japan to just 14-0 at the break. And they didn’t let-up in the second half, reaching the hourly mark having only conceded a third try. The high work-rate of Hong Kong back-row trio of Pale Tauti, Matt Lamming and Alex Baddeley, plus ironclad defence in midfield from centres Stewart Megaw and David Whiteford with skipper and fullback Tom McColl leading the way, proved a tough obstacle for Japan to overcome. “It was a gutsy effort from the guys,” said Hong Kong skipper McColl. “We knew Japan would come out and throw the ball around and we knew that we would have to defend our hearts out, and we did just that. I’m happy with our execution in defence but not so much with our attack.” It was only in the last quarter that Japan was able to show their fluency with right wing and captain Toshiaki Hirose grabbing a brace in the space of four minutes before reserve winger Yoshikazu Fujita sealed the result with a try at the end. The outcome of the battle between a team of professionals, Japan, and part-time players, Hong Kong, was never in doubt. But it was a shot in the arm for the home team who tackled their hearts out, putting in a massive 124 tackles to Japan’s 39. “It was a courageous test of fortitude,” said Hong Kong head coach Leigh Jones. “One of the key areas was the breakdown and we managed to slow down their ball.” Japan scored 18 tries in their opener against the Philippines a week ago but Hong Kong superbly shut them down and the lack of quality ball prevented the Brave Blossoms from playing the expansive game they wanted. But Japan’s Jones was satisfied. He said: “This was the type of game we wanted. Last week we ran in a lot of tries against the Philippines we didn’t do as much today but even though our execution wasn’t flash, I thoroughly enjoyed this game. We still scored 38 points and scored six tries while not conceding any points. That is good enough for me.” The United Arab Emirates seem to be the team in danger of being relegated from the Top Five this year after they lost their second successive match, going down 75-10 to South Korea in Al Ain on Friday. UAE will face Japan next week and then round off their campaign against the Philippines, a match which is likely to decide the team to carry the wooden spoon and be relegated into Division One next year thus making way for Sri Lanka in 2014. It was an impressive start for South Korea, runners-up last year, who ran in 10 tries including four from winger Kim Kwong-min. Korea has 11 of its national players featuring in the Japan Top League and these professionals made a significant contribution as they overpowered UAE in all facets of the game. Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 (edited) random thoughts: of being a proud pinoy and of the philippine volcanoes http://kalelbrave.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/random-thoughts-of-being-a-proud-pinoy-and-of-the-philippine-volcanoes/ A blog by Janet who is a volunteer for the Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU). Quite apt really considering the interest or lack thereof that is shown by Filipino's in general but by the country's top sports administrators towards rugby. Currently the most winning sports team in the country against top level international competition. Edited April 29, 2013 by Headroom Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 (edited) The Team for Tomorrow's Game at Rizal Stadium against Hong Kong. Number Name1 Dacanay, Austin Garnica2 Hagan, Graeme Santillan3 Bellenie, Matthew Orag4 Howorth, Stephen Pagtalunan5 Feeney, David6 Carroll, Terrence Javier7 Seeto, Darran Centillas8 Hitch, Christopher Baltazar9 Price, James Carandang10 Aronson, Alexander Noroña11 Saunders, Matthew Abalos12 Coveney, Justin Villazor13 Holgate, Gareth dela Rosa14 Matthews, Joseph Bembo15 Letts, Michael Robrigado ©16 Robinson-Polkey, David 17 Duhig, Michael Estrada18 Bautista, Joshua19 Rodriguez, Daniel20 Hettel, Christopher Ammayao21 Letts, Jake Robrigado22 Saunders, Benjamin Abalos23 Gregson, Jeffrey Blanco Head coach: Stuart WoodhouseAsst coach: Phil GittusPhysiotherapist: Luke Heath The match will be be played on Saturday, 4 May at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila at 7:00pm. It will be telecast on Solar Sports and ESPN Star Sports Channels. Edited May 3, 2013 by Headroom Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 Volcanoes face Hong Kong at Rizal Stadium The Philippine Volcanoes national Rugby team prepare for their first-ever home match as contenders in the Asian 5 Nations Top 5 Division as they host Hong Kong this Saturday, May 4 at Rizal Memorial Stadium. The Volcanoes enter the match as significant underdogs in their debut season in the Elite Division of Asian Rugby against a veteran Hong Kong team that has never finished lower than third in the competition, and regularly comes in second-place to perennial league leaders, Japan. The team is looking for an improved result after a very difficult opening loss away against Japan. The season-opener served as a baptism of fire after the team mostly sailed through its divisional promotional campaign with barely a bump, suffering only one loss in the previous five years. The Volcanoes’ task will be made even harder as starting 8-man/flanker Jake Pingal Ward is likely out for the rest of the tournament with broken ribs suffered in the match against Japan, and Head Coach Jarred Hodges forced to leave Thursday night due to a critical family emergency. The Volcanoes enter the match with assistant coach Stu Woodhouse taking over the head coaching duties and team manager Phil Gittus assisting with the forwards. Reached for comment prior to the match, Gittus noted the team “has a very realistic, but very positive attitude going into Saturday’s match. [The team] has had three weeks together now and look forward to showcasing some of [their] attacking prowess as well as defensive resolve.” The team can look to some encouraging signs before the first match. Before facing defending champions Japan, the Volcanoes had only one week to prepare due to majority of the players being based in Australia, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The extra time together in practice will benefit the team immensely in terms of structure, organization, and chemistry. They should also be encouraged by the play of starting scrum-half James Carandang Price who excelled in every facet of the game against Japan, despite an overwhelming advantage in quality by the fully-professional Japanese side. Facing a Japanese forward pack with a massive size advantage, the high-flying Volcanoes backs, long considered the team’s most dangerous attacking weapon, were starved of ball possession in their opening match and will look to string together more possession and phases of play against a Hong Kong side that also lost heavily to Japan at home last week, while the forwards should be able to showcase a more structured and organized defensive effort. While an upset win against Hong Kong this weekend would be a pleasant shock, the team will be looking more for further experience in top-division Asian Rugby and signs of progress before entering the critical matches against South Korea on May 11 and UAE on May 18 as they search for the all-important win to avoid relegation and ensure survival in the top division. About the HSBC Asian 5 Nations The HSBC Asian 5 Nations is a six-week long competition among the top 5 teams in Asia and is the qualifying competition for the Rugby World Cup 2015. Having been promoted from Division 1 in 2012, the Philippines are ranked fifth while Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates ranked first, second, third & fourth, respectively. The team that finishes fifth after the end of the six-week long competition will be demoted to Division 1, while the top 4 teams’ remain in the Elite Division and continue their quest to qualify for the Rugby World Cup 2015. The winner of the Elite Division in 2014 receives outright qualification to the Rugby World Cup 2015, while the Elite Division’s 2nd placer will face the 2nd placers from Africa, Europe and the Americas in a knock-out competition for the 20th & final Rugby World Cup slot. 4 May 2013: Japan v South Korea: Tokyo, JapanPhilippines v Hong Kong: Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila 10 May 2013: United Arab Emirates v Japan: Dubai 11 May 2013: South Korea v Philippines: Ansan, South Korea 18 May 2013:South Korea v Hong Kong , Ansan, South KoreaPhilippines v United Arab Emirates: Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted May 6, 2013 Author Share Posted May 6, 2013 PRFU FILA 15s LEAGUE highlights: Round 1 April 27 at Nomad Sports Club Includes a women's game, kids as well as the seniors. Quote Link to comment
Headroom Posted May 6, 2013 Author Share Posted May 6, 2013 Highlights of the game between the Philippines and Hong Kong. Hong Kong won 59 - 20 but again the Philippines held their own in the first half to trail 14 - 10. Great effort from the lads against a team that once again is full of professional players. Pretty good crowd at the game as well - thanks to all the fans that made it to the game. Quote Link to comment
delubyo69 Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Philippine Volcanoes...great players but still need some improvement to face better opponents. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.