PHILIPPINE RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION

THE PHILIPPINE RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION (PRFU)

The PRFU is the official governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in the Philippines. The PRFU was founded in 1998 and was granted full World Rugby membership in 2008. Philippine Rugby is a non-profit national sports association registered with SEC focused on growing and developing the sport of Rugby Union in the Philippines. The PRFU board consists of seven board members and a full time staff of four full time employees and consultants along with a number of regional Development Officers/Coaches located all over the country. The PRFU and its Development Officers provide free training in contact rugby for schools, institutions, clubs and local foundations.

The PRFU are registered accredited members of both World Rugby and Asia Rugby as well as being recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Commission.

Over the last decade the sport of Rugby Union has become more popular in the Philippines as it has seen the success in both the Men and Women’s national team programs. The Filipino public has started to admire, learn and support the sport of Rugby as the Philippine Volcanoes have proven to attract supporters with successful performances rising from the sixth tier of the Asia Rugby Championships to the first tier in successive years. The Philippine Volcanoes are the only team in Asia to achieve this feat. The 7s format has also seen the Philippine Volcanoes on a remarkable rise proving nothing is impossible after qualifying for the 7s Rugby World Cup just five years after their inclusion in the Asian 7s Series. The most recent successes have seen both the Gold medal finish for the Men’s and the Silver medal finish for the women’s in the recent 2019 South East Asian Games held in Clark, Philippines.

WHY "PHILIPPINE VOLCANOES"?

The team name Philippine Volcanoes was adopted from the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment composed of Filipino Americans who saw battle during World War 2. The first Philippine National Rugby Team that participated in their first international tournament was a mix of Expat and Filipino players. Thus, the team name.

1st Infantry Regiment insignia / Team logo 2005 to 2013 / Team logo 2014 - present

VISION

To make Rugby a recognized and popular sport in the Philippines, played by Filipinos.

MISSION STATEMENT

To create communities that are inspired to play Rugby, grow Rugby and watch Rugby.

HISTORY

The PRFU was founded in 1998 and, 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 ship and occasional touring sides. At that time, there was only one major tournament each year – the Manila 10’s at Nomads Sports Club in Paranaque, though this in itself has been an excellent vehicle for raising the visibility of Philippine’ rugby to clubs all around the World.

At the time of the PRFU’s formation, the sport of Rugby Union was being played in the Philippines predominantly by foreign expatriates. Since then, the PRFU has come a long way and is now able to field 100% Filipino heritage players in the Philippine National Team called the “Philippine Volcanoes”, the team have competed and won several internationally recognized and sanctioned competitions across both Men's and Women's.

The “Philippine Volcanoes” consists of several national programs: