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dxjayrock20082
Guest
What the Philippine Football has failed to do is what the Philippine Rugby has succeeded.
What the Philippine Football has failed to do is what the Philippine Rugby has succeeded.
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donmar2
Guest
Agree to that.. the only thing missing is a national league and IMO, rugby will overtake football... Philippine football failed to take advantage of the support of FIFA and even failed to extensively scout overseas Filipino talent (heck, it took a boy playing a playstation to discover the Younghusband brothers)... PRFU, on the other hand, did the opposite way and succeed..
I wanna see PRFU keep doing what they're doing right now since some of our players are expose to the kind of rugby that their adopted countries are playing... I'm looking forward to see half-Filipino, half-Polynesian players playing for us... we'll be unstoppable in Asia second only to Japan...
TrueBluePinoy2
Moderator
There's only one reason why Football isn't making any strides.
Jose Mari Martinez.
Jose Mari Martinez.
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donmar2
Guest
Agree to that.. Philippine Football's Graham Lim
...Its kinda sad.. we got full support not just from FIFA but from other footballing powers.. last time I heard, Germany wants to help develop football in the country... we don't get that kind of support in basketball from FIBA in basketball or even from IRB in rugby.. yet basketball and rugby strive while football remain stagnant.. personally, I want football to succeed in the Philippines than any other sports.. it sucks that our very own football bureaucracy is the very reason for the current stagnation..
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dxjayrock20082
Guest
Hopefully by next year, we will have a national league for rugby. Based on PRFU website, they've included the local clubs in their list.
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donmar2
Guest
Some of those clubs goes back to as early as the pre-war era.. they're the very reason why rugby started in the Philippines and why rugby started to develop, although slowly, but effectively from late 1990s to the this present day....
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dxjayrock20082
Guest
D
dxjayrock20082
Guest
From PRFU news feed.
From PRFU news feed.
Junior Asian Rugby Championships
August 20, 2010
The Philippines U20s Rugby Union team registered their third win in the Asian Championships with a convincing victory over the home team Laos by 52 – 0. In dry conditions the Philippines were dominant in both the backs and forwards and ran in 8 tries and made 6 conversions to keep their unbeaten record intact. Unlike previous games the forwards started to run consecutive patterns and were able to draw in the courageous Laos defenders, this then opened up spaces out wide for the Philippine backline, who have stamped their authority at this year's tournament with their skillful plays and ferocious defense.
The team celebrates their latest victory with Philippines Second Secretary and Consul to Laos, Mr Christopher Patrick T. Aro
The Philippines play Iran today in the last game of the tournament and can expect a very physical encounter with the Iran team having a distinct size advantage. In a repeat of last year's final were the Philippines won in Manila by 21 – 3, this game will decide the tournament champions. It is expected that there will be a large local crowd and the Iranian team will be focused on knocking off the Philippines to take some revenge from last year's defeat.
Philippines coach Matt Cullen is quietly confident that the Philippines will take out the U20s 2010 Championships with a victory over Iran and explained that a victory today would make it Seven consecutive victories in a row for the National U20s squad by beating Pakistan and Iran in 2009 and defeating India, Kazakhstan, Laos and Iran at this year's tournament. Victory at this tournament will guarantee promotion to the U20s Division 1 tournament in 2011.
"It is definitely exciting to attend Asian Championships and come out winners two years in a row, this certainly provides a solid platform for the Men's National team and four players from this U20s squad will graduate to play with the Men's team in 2010. We were already able to select Reggie Teagle in the Men's 7s team who will travel to Shanghai in September to prepare for the Asian Games". National Team backs coach Grant Rice explained that "He possesses all the talents to become a great National 7s player and will provide genuine speed in the faster game of 7s Rugby"
From PRFU news feed.
Junior Asian Rugby Championships
August 20, 2010
The Philippines U20s Rugby Union team registered their third win in the Asian Championships with a convincing victory over the home team Laos by 52 – 0. In dry conditions the Philippines were dominant in both the backs and forwards and ran in 8 tries and made 6 conversions to keep their unbeaten record intact. Unlike previous games the forwards started to run consecutive patterns and were able to draw in the courageous Laos defenders, this then opened up spaces out wide for the Philippine backline, who have stamped their authority at this year's tournament with their skillful plays and ferocious defense.
The team celebrates their latest victory with Philippines Second Secretary and Consul to Laos, Mr Christopher Patrick T. Aro
The Philippines play Iran today in the last game of the tournament and can expect a very physical encounter with the Iran team having a distinct size advantage. In a repeat of last year's final were the Philippines won in Manila by 21 – 3, this game will decide the tournament champions. It is expected that there will be a large local crowd and the Iranian team will be focused on knocking off the Philippines to take some revenge from last year's defeat.
Philippines coach Matt Cullen is quietly confident that the Philippines will take out the U20s 2010 Championships with a victory over Iran and explained that a victory today would make it Seven consecutive victories in a row for the National U20s squad by beating Pakistan and Iran in 2009 and defeating India, Kazakhstan, Laos and Iran at this year's tournament. Victory at this tournament will guarantee promotion to the U20s Division 1 tournament in 2011.
"It is definitely exciting to attend Asian Championships and come out winners two years in a row, this certainly provides a solid platform for the Men's National team and four players from this U20s squad will graduate to play with the Men's team in 2010. We were already able to select Reggie Teagle in the Men's 7s team who will travel to Shanghai in September to prepare for the Asian Games". National Team backs coach Grant Rice explained that "He possesses all the talents to become a great National 7s player and will provide genuine speed in the faster game of 7s Rugby"
TrueBluePinoy2
Moderator
I see there are expat players on the team.
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dxjayrock20082
Guest
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dxjayrock20082
Guest
From PRFU news feed.
From PRFU news feed.
Junior Asian Division 2 Championship Update: Philippines defeats Iran 12 - 8 on the last day of the competition for a perfect record of 4 wins in 4 matches. Congratulations to the Philippine Under 20 Team and Coaching Staff!!!
From PRFU news feed.
Junior Asian Division 2 Championship Update: Philippines defeats Iran 12 - 8 on the last day of the competition for a perfect record of 4 wins in 4 matches. Congratulations to the Philippine Under 20 Team and Coaching Staff!!!
TrueBluePinoy2
Moderator
Both Volcanoes and the U-20 team undefeated since joining the Asian scene. Hope they do well in the Asian Games specially when they play against First Five teams like Japan.
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donmar2
Guest
Agree to that.. and in terms of win-loss.. we only have one loss in a friendly test match against Pakistan.. but we're unbeaten in the official A5N tourney...
In the Asian Games, it will just the rugby sevens.. not the rugby xv... sevens will be the faster version with few players on the field.. rugby sevens to rugby is like 3-on-3 to basketball...
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dxjayrock20082
Guest
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dxjayrock20082
Guest
News feed from PRFU.
News feed from PRFU.
Young Filipino Warriors Win the Asian U20s Rugby Union Divison 2 Championships
by Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) on Sunday, 22 August 2010 at 16:06
Junior Asian Rugby Division 2 Championships
August 21, 2010
The Philippine U20s Rugby Union team made a clean sweep of the Asian u20s Division 2 Championships in Vientiane Laos this week. The Philippines played four game of Rugby Union in five days at the 2009 South East Asian Games stadium and were able to defeat India 38–7, Kazakhstan 22–10, Laos 52–0 and Iran 12–8. The last game against Iran was the Championship final and this game proved to be the hardest victory for a tiring Filipino team. Iran had a physical advantage and the heavens opened on the morning of the final which played into the hands of the Iranian team whose game plan revolved around barging forward play backed up by down field kicking. Throughout the tournament the Philippines had successfully used their backline to cut through their opponent's backlines but the weather conditions were not favorable for running rugby and the Philippines struggled to control the ball in the slippery wet conditions.
After succeeding eight penalties the Iranian team finally missed a tackle in defense on their line and the Philippine Backline were able to capitalize on this mistake to score out wide through Ricky Kucia and the Philippines took a five point lead. The Iranian team had definitely improved since last year's final and grew in confidence as the Philippines gave up successive penalties and the Iranian goal kicker converted a penalty to take the halftime score to 5–3.
The torrential rain conditions had certainly hampered the Philippines backline attack and the Philippines were unlucky not to score on three different occasions during a physical first half. The second half proved to be even tighter and Iran could sense that they had a chance to win the final. The Philippines Captain Ben Saunders and center partner Christian Kennedy started kicking for space and eventually the Iranian team made a mistake in their own territory. Brian Liston who had claimed the man of the match award against Kazakhstan once again showed his authority in the lineouts and led the Philippines forward pack with passion to set up the second try for Ricky Kucia. This try was converted by Andrea Engelbrecht to take the score to 12 – 3.
The last ten minutes of the game was a roller coaster ride with Iran making several attacking raids that eventually paid dividends with a try out wide after the Philippines gave up three consecutive penalties. The score stood at 12 – 8 and the Iranian team rallied to push for yet another try but the Philippines defense held strong and the final siren sounded with a jubilant Philippines team celebrating their back-to-back Asian U20s titles.
The Philippine U20s team has now won seven International Rugby Games in a row and has back-to-back victories at the Asian U20s Championships, not dropping a game in both tournaments. Coach Matt Cullen was extremely happy with his young guns and explained that most the team would be returning next year as 18 and 19 year olds to play in the Division 1 Championships. This victory also means that the Philippine Rugby Union National Men's, Ladies and U20s teams have all won Asian Championships in 2010 and all the Rugby Union playing Asian Nations are aware that the Philippines is becoming a strong rugby nation in Asia.
News feed from PRFU.
Young Filipino Warriors Win the Asian U20s Rugby Union Divison 2 Championships
by Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) on Sunday, 22 August 2010 at 16:06
Junior Asian Rugby Division 2 Championships
August 21, 2010
The Philippine U20s Rugby Union team made a clean sweep of the Asian u20s Division 2 Championships in Vientiane Laos this week. The Philippines played four game of Rugby Union in five days at the 2009 South East Asian Games stadium and were able to defeat India 38–7, Kazakhstan 22–10, Laos 52–0 and Iran 12–8. The last game against Iran was the Championship final and this game proved to be the hardest victory for a tiring Filipino team. Iran had a physical advantage and the heavens opened on the morning of the final which played into the hands of the Iranian team whose game plan revolved around barging forward play backed up by down field kicking. Throughout the tournament the Philippines had successfully used their backline to cut through their opponent's backlines but the weather conditions were not favorable for running rugby and the Philippines struggled to control the ball in the slippery wet conditions.
After succeeding eight penalties the Iranian team finally missed a tackle in defense on their line and the Philippine Backline were able to capitalize on this mistake to score out wide through Ricky Kucia and the Philippines took a five point lead. The Iranian team had definitely improved since last year's final and grew in confidence as the Philippines gave up successive penalties and the Iranian goal kicker converted a penalty to take the halftime score to 5–3.
The torrential rain conditions had certainly hampered the Philippines backline attack and the Philippines were unlucky not to score on three different occasions during a physical first half. The second half proved to be even tighter and Iran could sense that they had a chance to win the final. The Philippines Captain Ben Saunders and center partner Christian Kennedy started kicking for space and eventually the Iranian team made a mistake in their own territory. Brian Liston who had claimed the man of the match award against Kazakhstan once again showed his authority in the lineouts and led the Philippines forward pack with passion to set up the second try for Ricky Kucia. This try was converted by Andrea Engelbrecht to take the score to 12 – 3.
The last ten minutes of the game was a roller coaster ride with Iran making several attacking raids that eventually paid dividends with a try out wide after the Philippines gave up three consecutive penalties. The score stood at 12 – 8 and the Iranian team rallied to push for yet another try but the Philippines defense held strong and the final siren sounded with a jubilant Philippines team celebrating their back-to-back Asian U20s titles.
The Philippine U20s team has now won seven International Rugby Games in a row and has back-to-back victories at the Asian U20s Championships, not dropping a game in both tournaments. Coach Matt Cullen was extremely happy with his young guns and explained that most the team would be returning next year as 18 and 19 year olds to play in the Division 1 Championships. This victory also means that the Philippine Rugby Union National Men's, Ladies and U20s teams have all won Asian Championships in 2010 and all the Rugby Union playing Asian Nations are aware that the Philippines is becoming a strong rugby nation in Asia.
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dxjayrock20082
Guest
News feed from scrumqueens.com. Asian Rugby Lady Players kicks assess! Lol.
News feed from scrumqueens.com. Asian Rugby Lady Players kicks assess! Lol.
Fifteens expands in Asia
By John Birch
(Image: Laos women's rugby side)
Three of Asian's newest women’s rugby sides will take part in a development camp Vientiane this weekend.
Lao PDR (aka Laos), Thailand and the Philippines will compete in the 15 aside three-day camp in an effort to boost the game in a region where 7s has to now been more popular.
The three teams taking part in the fifteens development tournament in Laos this month have very different rugby backgrounds. Only one has ever played a 15-a-side international before.
Laos played their first international in 2007 when they took part in the South East Asia sevens, eventually beating South Korea to take third place. Since then they have played only one international – uniquely a 10s match - against Cambodia last year, which they won 15-5
Philippines have an even shorter international history, making their debut at the Asian Sevens Championship in July where they finished a creditable 9th out of 13, with wins over India and Korea.
Thailand are by far and away the most experienced rugby nation of the three, having played regular international sevens rugby since 2000 and even dipping their toes into the fifteens games at the 2005 and 2006 Asian Championships.
Their sevens record is good - reached the final of the Asian Sevens in both 2008 and 2009, were third at the 2009 Hong Kong Sevens, and were South East Asia champions in 2007 (the only occasion on which this tournament has been played), beating Laos on the way.
Thailand’s fifteens experience is restricted to the Asian Championships, which they hosted in 2005, finishing third by beating Hong Kong 20-18 in a tense play-off after they had lost 67-0 to Kazakhstan in the first round. They repeated this performance in 2006 beating Singapore this time, 20-0, in the play-off after a 53-11 defeat to China in the semi-final.
Tomorrow we speak to Maggie Dillon, Operations Manager at the Lao Rugby Federation, about the rise of the game there.
ShareThis
News feed from scrumqueens.com. Asian Rugby Lady Players kicks assess! Lol.
Fifteens expands in Asia
(Image: Laos women's rugby side)
Three of Asian's newest women’s rugby sides will take part in a development camp Vientiane this weekend.
Lao PDR (aka Laos), Thailand and the Philippines will compete in the 15 aside three-day camp in an effort to boost the game in a region where 7s has to now been more popular.
The three teams taking part in the fifteens development tournament in Laos this month have very different rugby backgrounds. Only one has ever played a 15-a-side international before.
Laos played their first international in 2007 when they took part in the South East Asia sevens, eventually beating South Korea to take third place. Since then they have played only one international – uniquely a 10s match - against Cambodia last year, which they won 15-5
Philippines have an even shorter international history, making their debut at the Asian Sevens Championship in July where they finished a creditable 9th out of 13, with wins over India and Korea.
Thailand are by far and away the most experienced rugby nation of the three, having played regular international sevens rugby since 2000 and even dipping their toes into the fifteens games at the 2005 and 2006 Asian Championships.
Their sevens record is good - reached the final of the Asian Sevens in both 2008 and 2009, were third at the 2009 Hong Kong Sevens, and were South East Asia champions in 2007 (the only occasion on which this tournament has been played), beating Laos on the way.
Thailand’s fifteens experience is restricted to the Asian Championships, which they hosted in 2005, finishing third by beating Hong Kong 20-18 in a tense play-off after they had lost 67-0 to Kazakhstan in the first round. They repeated this performance in 2006 beating Singapore this time, 20-0, in the play-off after a 53-11 defeat to China in the semi-final.
Tomorrow we speak to Maggie Dillon, Operations Manager at the Lao Rugby Federation, about the rise of the game there.
ShareThis
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dxjayrock20082
Guest
News feed from sunstar.com.
News feed from sunstar.com.
Cebuana-led rugby team bags 2nd place in Laos
By Cheska D. Geli
Thursday, October 28, 2010
THE Cebuanas did it again.
After the success of two lady players in the Asian 7s rugby in China, six members from the Cebu Chillex Pink Dragons made the Philippine rugby team that competed in Vientiane, Laos for the Asian Women’s Tri-Nation Series last Oct. 15-17, against Thailand and Laos.
“The teams there were composed of more than 20 to 30 players. We only had 17 so we only had two substitutes,” said Rose Lanticse, one of the Cebuanas in the team.
Despite not losing in all their games, the Philippines finished second overall based on the point system of the single round robin tournament.
In the first game, Laos was able to overcome the strong defense from the Thais and won, 12-5, while Ann Layumas scored the only try in RP’s 5-0 win over Thailand.
The Philippines only had a ten-minute rest going in to their next game against Laos, and the two drew, 5-5, with Nikki Lira scoring for the Philippines.
The Philippines had the edge entering the second half but since the organizers decided that there will be no overtime, the match ended in a draw.
The event was the first 15s tournament that was participated by the Philippine rugby team, with players hailing from different clubs in the country.
“We never had a practice as a team before the tournament and most of us just met there in Laos. It was tough seeing the girls, especially from Thailand. They were really dominant in size and height but that did not intimidate us,” Lanticse said.
Aside from Lanticse and Layumas, the other Cebuanos in the team were Blessie Kate de los Santos, Jennifer Pondoc, Marie Antonette Gambito and Aiumi Ono, who was chosen as the tournament’s best player.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 28, 2010.
News feed from sunstar.com.
Cebuana-led rugby team bags 2nd place in Laos
By Cheska D. Geli
Thursday, October 28, 2010
THE Cebuanas did it again.
After the success of two lady players in the Asian 7s rugby in China, six members from the Cebu Chillex Pink Dragons made the Philippine rugby team that competed in Vientiane, Laos for the Asian Women’s Tri-Nation Series last Oct. 15-17, against Thailand and Laos.
“The teams there were composed of more than 20 to 30 players. We only had 17 so we only had two substitutes,” said Rose Lanticse, one of the Cebuanas in the team.
Despite not losing in all their games, the Philippines finished second overall based on the point system of the single round robin tournament.
In the first game, Laos was able to overcome the strong defense from the Thais and won, 12-5, while Ann Layumas scored the only try in RP’s 5-0 win over Thailand.
The Philippines only had a ten-minute rest going in to their next game against Laos, and the two drew, 5-5, with Nikki Lira scoring for the Philippines.
The Philippines had the edge entering the second half but since the organizers decided that there will be no overtime, the match ended in a draw.
The event was the first 15s tournament that was participated by the Philippine rugby team, with players hailing from different clubs in the country.
“We never had a practice as a team before the tournament and most of us just met there in Laos. It was tough seeing the girls, especially from Thailand. They were really dominant in size and height but that did not intimidate us,” Lanticse said.
Aside from Lanticse and Layumas, the other Cebuanos in the team were Blessie Kate de los Santos, Jennifer Pondoc, Marie Antonette Gambito and Aiumi Ono, who was chosen as the tournament’s best player.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 28, 2010.
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dxjayrock20082
Guest
From PFRU news feed.
From PFRU news feed.
Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU)'s Photo.
The Philippine National Men's 7s team are focused on playing two very hard Round 1 matches against Japan (ranked #3) and Sri Lanka (ranked #7), the Philippine team are determined to improve on their tenth place ranking in Shanghai and can only do this by defeating one or both of these higher ranked International Teams this Saturday in the Asian Men's 7s Championships in Borneo, the tournament finals will take place on Sunday. The 12 top ranked Men's 7s teams in Asia are here to compete for a place in the prestigious Hong Kong 7s in 2011.
From PFRU news feed.
Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU)'s Photo.
The Philippine National Men's 7s team are focused on playing two very hard Round 1 matches against Japan (ranked #3) and Sri Lanka (ranked #7), the Philippine team are determined to improve on their tenth place ranking in Shanghai and can only do this by defeating one or both of these higher ranked International Teams this Saturday in the Asian Men's 7s Championships in Borneo, the tournament finals will take place on Sunday. The 12 top ranked Men's 7s teams in Asia are here to compete for a place in the prestigious Hong Kong 7s in 2011.
D
dxjayrock20082
Guest
Latest news feed from PRFU.
Latest news feed from PRFU.
Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) Borneo 7s Update: Philippines defeats Chinese Taipei in last play of the game to win 19-12. They will play Kazakhstan in the Bowl Final this afternoon. Go Team Philippines!!!
Latest news feed from PRFU.
Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) Borneo 7s Update: Philippines defeats Chinese Taipei in last play of the game to win 19-12. They will play Kazakhstan in the Bowl Final this afternoon. Go Team Philippines!!!
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b3lowzro2
Guest
The Rugby Chronicles: An inquiry into the existence of jocks with brains
EMOTIONAL WEATHER REPORT By Jessica Zafra (The Philippine Star)
I won’t lie to you: it started with the shorts. As a tennis fan I am appalled by the length of the shorts on the ATP men’s tour. Why don’t they just wear white flannel trousers while they’re at it? Understand that I grew up in the McEnroe era, when Wimbledon finals were contested by men wearing hot pants.
So I looked for a sport that showed the proper appreciation for male quadriceps and glutes, and that’s how I started watching rugby on TV. Initially I thought the object of the game was to pile as many bodies as possible on the ball-carrier; eventually I figured out what “scrum” (they lock heads and push) and “try” (a goal, not an attempt) were. In March my former publisher Jaime Augusto Zobel became a sponsor of the Philippine national rugby team through Globe Telecom. Jaime had played rugby at boarding school in England, and continues to follow the sport.
Although the rugby team, nicknamed the Philippine Volcanoes, has won medals at the Southeast Asian Games and is the fastest-rising rugby team in Asia shooting up from nowhere to Division 1 in three years its existence was known only to the small, mostly expatriate local rugby community. To the general public, “rugby” is something the lowly snort under bridges.
Jaime asked me if I could write about the rugby team. “Uhh... how do they look?” I asked. Were they misshapen from getting banged up? Did they have teeth left? “You didn’t tell them about the shorts, did you?”
“I told them you enjoyed the ‘physicality’ of the game,” he said.
In May the team was training for the A5N Division 2 championships; I went to have a look.
They’re spectacular. Fine, call me shallow, but these are the best-looking, most insanely fit guys I’ve ever seen in a single group. There are a few homegrown players who learned to play rugby at International School and Brent, but most of them are Fil-British or Fil-Australian. Their mothers are Filipinas working abroad who settled down in Europe or Australia. Some strange alchemy occurs when Filipinas marry people of other ethnicities: the progeny look fabulous. These guys had always known of their Filipino heritage, and when the motherland called they answered.
How can you sleep at a time like this? They can. The Volcanoes in the stands between matches.
I should stress that they do not get paid to play rugby for the Philippines. In fact they pay their own way, shouldering their own airfares and other expenses, going on leave from their jobs, and hoarding their vacation time to play for a country that doesn’t know they exist. Which, if it knew they existed, would almost certainly say, “Hindi naman Pilipino yan.” (Those are not Filipinos). They do it because they love rugby, they love their moms, and they yearn for this country in a way those of us who live here do not understand.
Two days after my look-see, the Volcanoes won the Division 2 championship to barge into Division 1.
Most of the Volcanoes live abroad. I’d interviewed some of them online, but the resulting articles lacked something. Writing about sports demands that you be there. Physical presence is everything. When I heard that the national rugby team was competing at the Borneo Sevens tournament in Kota Kinabalu, I asked Jaime and Globe if they would send me to cover it. They said yes. I downloaded the IRB Beginner’s Guide to Rugby and read every word, then I packed a suitcase for Malaysia.
* * *
Now for something about the game itself. The Philippine team is unbeaten at rugby 15s (15 players a side) for three years. Rugby 7s (7 players a side) is a different matter. It’s short, sweet and brutal. A game of sevens consists of two halves of seven minutes each blink and you’ll miss it. It is rugby 7s that has been recognized as an Olympic sport; it debuts at the 2016 games.
Asia’s top 12 rugby teams compete at the Borneo 7s. Last year Japan won the tournament and the Philippines shocked the established rugby nations by placing sixth. The Volcanoes aim to qualify for the 2011 Hong Kong Sevens, the most prestigious 7s tournament on earth. To do that they would have to place sixth or better at the tournaments they enter (i.e. fewer than other countries; budgetary constraints). In September the Philippines suffered a setback at the Shanghai 7s, finishing tenth. To stay on track for HK7s, the Filipinos would have to win this tournament outright by beating rugby world powers Japan, Hong Kong and Korea.
Wolff retrieves the ball in a close match vs. Sri Lanka.
Harry Morris responds with a look of “So?” Harry is the Philippine team captain, jersey number one. Harry is just under six feet tall, built like a wall, and radiates certainty. He is not the biggest guy on the team that would be the fearsome Justin Coveney, nicknamed The Flying Jeepney because if you run into him, you will know what it’s like to be hit by a barreling Manila jeepney. And then he will haul your ass to court because Justin is a lawyer from Sydney.
He is not the handsomest guy on the team, and if you quote me on this I will have to go into the witness protection program. Andrew Wolff the model/actor is on the team; he’s so beautiful that one fears for one’s retinas, but even Wolfie doesn’t get the title automatically. Chris Everingham has the Errol Flynn factor, and Mark Chatting looks like the frontman of an indie hipster band. Everyone falls in love with Patrice Olivier, the half-French boy, on sight, and that includes the guys on the team; I am reduced to following him around squealing, “That’s so adorable!” every time he says something (I want to slap myself). And that is just a random sampling.
But Harry has wattage, and to hear him speak is a shock: soft-spoken, Welsh accent. The technical term for this is Marky Mark-ness. A marine biologist, Harry was an intelligence officer at the environmental agency in Wales, “but I had the job for three years and nothing was happening, and I couldn’t get enough time off to play in tournaments.” He quit and moved to London, where he plays semi-pro rugby for Rosslyn Park.
Our team can beat anyone, the captain says, but they have to play together regularly. The other countries have specialist sevens teams that play together all year round. The RP team for the Borneo 7s assembled in Manila from all over the world on Monday, trained together on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning, and flew to Kota Kinabalu for the tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy weekend.
Jaza at 15
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (standing second from left) on his rugby-playing days: “I played my first rugby match when I was nine years old. I had just been enrolled at Ladycross, a boarding school in Sussex, England and this was the only sport played in winter. It was the start of a personal passion for the sport, which I played without stopping all through to the end of my high school years in the UK. Physically, I grew up fast and reached my adult height early in my teens so I was able to compete at an early age at a competitive level. While I was never a nationally ranked athlete in the sport, I did get as far as representing Sussex Schools at the Under 16s level, representing Worth School, my high school, in their First 15, and playing in the Sevens team that reached the quarterfinals of the Rossyln Park Sevens (http://www.ns7.co.uk), the closest thing that came to a National Sevens Championship in England at the time.
“I played in the position of flanker, both open side and blind side, which is part of the back row in a scrum. It is a position that plays both offensive and defensive rugby, as they case may be.
“I dislocated my knee caps five times in high school and had to leave rugby in college. I turned to crew instead and rowed for a year with the Harvard Freshman Lightweight crew team (160 pounds and under).”
* * *
Coverage of the Philippine Volcanoes at the Borneo 7s was made possible by Globe Telecom, a proud sponsor of the Philippine men’s rugby team.
taken from Philstar.com
EMOTIONAL WEATHER REPORT By Jessica Zafra (The Philippine Star)
I won’t lie to you: it started with the shorts. As a tennis fan I am appalled by the length of the shorts on the ATP men’s tour. Why don’t they just wear white flannel trousers while they’re at it? Understand that I grew up in the McEnroe era, when Wimbledon finals were contested by men wearing hot pants.
So I looked for a sport that showed the proper appreciation for male quadriceps and glutes, and that’s how I started watching rugby on TV. Initially I thought the object of the game was to pile as many bodies as possible on the ball-carrier; eventually I figured out what “scrum” (they lock heads and push) and “try” (a goal, not an attempt) were. In March my former publisher Jaime Augusto Zobel became a sponsor of the Philippine national rugby team through Globe Telecom. Jaime had played rugby at boarding school in England, and continues to follow the sport.
Although the rugby team, nicknamed the Philippine Volcanoes, has won medals at the Southeast Asian Games and is the fastest-rising rugby team in Asia shooting up from nowhere to Division 1 in three years its existence was known only to the small, mostly expatriate local rugby community. To the general public, “rugby” is something the lowly snort under bridges.
Jaime asked me if I could write about the rugby team. “Uhh... how do they look?” I asked. Were they misshapen from getting banged up? Did they have teeth left? “You didn’t tell them about the shorts, did you?”
“I told them you enjoyed the ‘physicality’ of the game,” he said.
In May the team was training for the A5N Division 2 championships; I went to have a look.
They’re spectacular. Fine, call me shallow, but these are the best-looking, most insanely fit guys I’ve ever seen in a single group. There are a few homegrown players who learned to play rugby at International School and Brent, but most of them are Fil-British or Fil-Australian. Their mothers are Filipinas working abroad who settled down in Europe or Australia. Some strange alchemy occurs when Filipinas marry people of other ethnicities: the progeny look fabulous. These guys had always known of their Filipino heritage, and when the motherland called they answered.
How can you sleep at a time like this? They can. The Volcanoes in the stands between matches.
I should stress that they do not get paid to play rugby for the Philippines. In fact they pay their own way, shouldering their own airfares and other expenses, going on leave from their jobs, and hoarding their vacation time to play for a country that doesn’t know they exist. Which, if it knew they existed, would almost certainly say, “Hindi naman Pilipino yan.” (Those are not Filipinos). They do it because they love rugby, they love their moms, and they yearn for this country in a way those of us who live here do not understand.
Two days after my look-see, the Volcanoes won the Division 2 championship to barge into Division 1.
Most of the Volcanoes live abroad. I’d interviewed some of them online, but the resulting articles lacked something. Writing about sports demands that you be there. Physical presence is everything. When I heard that the national rugby team was competing at the Borneo Sevens tournament in Kota Kinabalu, I asked Jaime and Globe if they would send me to cover it. They said yes. I downloaded the IRB Beginner’s Guide to Rugby and read every word, then I packed a suitcase for Malaysia.
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Now for something about the game itself. The Philippine team is unbeaten at rugby 15s (15 players a side) for three years. Rugby 7s (7 players a side) is a different matter. It’s short, sweet and brutal. A game of sevens consists of two halves of seven minutes each blink and you’ll miss it. It is rugby 7s that has been recognized as an Olympic sport; it debuts at the 2016 games.
Asia’s top 12 rugby teams compete at the Borneo 7s. Last year Japan won the tournament and the Philippines shocked the established rugby nations by placing sixth. The Volcanoes aim to qualify for the 2011 Hong Kong Sevens, the most prestigious 7s tournament on earth. To do that they would have to place sixth or better at the tournaments they enter (i.e. fewer than other countries; budgetary constraints). In September the Philippines suffered a setback at the Shanghai 7s, finishing tenth. To stay on track for HK7s, the Filipinos would have to win this tournament outright by beating rugby world powers Japan, Hong Kong and Korea.
Wolff retrieves the ball in a close match vs. Sri Lanka.
Harry Morris responds with a look of “So?” Harry is the Philippine team captain, jersey number one. Harry is just under six feet tall, built like a wall, and radiates certainty. He is not the biggest guy on the team that would be the fearsome Justin Coveney, nicknamed The Flying Jeepney because if you run into him, you will know what it’s like to be hit by a barreling Manila jeepney. And then he will haul your ass to court because Justin is a lawyer from Sydney.
He is not the handsomest guy on the team, and if you quote me on this I will have to go into the witness protection program. Andrew Wolff the model/actor is on the team; he’s so beautiful that one fears for one’s retinas, but even Wolfie doesn’t get the title automatically. Chris Everingham has the Errol Flynn factor, and Mark Chatting looks like the frontman of an indie hipster band. Everyone falls in love with Patrice Olivier, the half-French boy, on sight, and that includes the guys on the team; I am reduced to following him around squealing, “That’s so adorable!” every time he says something (I want to slap myself). And that is just a random sampling.
But Harry has wattage, and to hear him speak is a shock: soft-spoken, Welsh accent. The technical term for this is Marky Mark-ness. A marine biologist, Harry was an intelligence officer at the environmental agency in Wales, “but I had the job for three years and nothing was happening, and I couldn’t get enough time off to play in tournaments.” He quit and moved to London, where he plays semi-pro rugby for Rosslyn Park.
Our team can beat anyone, the captain says, but they have to play together regularly. The other countries have specialist sevens teams that play together all year round. The RP team for the Borneo 7s assembled in Manila from all over the world on Monday, trained together on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning, and flew to Kota Kinabalu for the tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy weekend.
Jaza at 15
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (standing second from left) on his rugby-playing days: “I played my first rugby match when I was nine years old. I had just been enrolled at Ladycross, a boarding school in Sussex, England and this was the only sport played in winter. It was the start of a personal passion for the sport, which I played without stopping all through to the end of my high school years in the UK. Physically, I grew up fast and reached my adult height early in my teens so I was able to compete at an early age at a competitive level. While I was never a nationally ranked athlete in the sport, I did get as far as representing Sussex Schools at the Under 16s level, representing Worth School, my high school, in their First 15, and playing in the Sevens team that reached the quarterfinals of the Rossyln Park Sevens (http://www.ns7.co.uk), the closest thing that came to a National Sevens Championship in England at the time.
“I played in the position of flanker, both open side and blind side, which is part of the back row in a scrum. It is a position that plays both offensive and defensive rugby, as they case may be.
“I dislocated my knee caps five times in high school and had to leave rugby in college. I turned to crew instead and rowed for a year with the Harvard Freshman Lightweight crew team (160 pounds and under).”
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Coverage of the Philippine Volcanoes at the Borneo 7s was made possible by Globe Telecom, a proud sponsor of the Philippine men’s rugby team.
taken from Philstar.com