PHILIPPINE RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION
  • ABOUT US
    • Calendar
    • Strategic Plan
    • Sponsor Rugby
    • RUGBY 101
    • Constitution and By Laws
    • Lifetime Members
    • Growing the Game - Retention Strategy
    • Sustainability
    • Audited Financial Statement
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • CLUB RUGBY & YOUTH RUGBY
    • Club Rugby
    • Schools & Youth Rugby
    • Get Into Rugby
    • Development Team
    • Training and Education
    • Support Foundation Programs
    • PRFU New Player Registration
    • Club Rugby Player Registration
    • Match Officials >
      • COVID-19 - Return to Rugby
    • Domestic Rugby Results >
      • PRFU 15s >
        • 2020 15s
      • PRFU 7s >
        • 2019 PRFU 7s
  • NATIONAL TEAMS
    • Player Recruitment
    • Player Profiles >
      • Men's 15s
      • Women's 15s
      • Men's 7s
      • Women's 7s
      • Rising Stars
    • National Women's Program
    • Men's 7s
    • Men's 15s
    • National Development Teams
    • National Youth Teams
    • National Teams Resource Page
  • PRFU POLICY STATEMENTS
    • Player Welfare
    • World Rugby Anti-Doping Regulations
    • PRFU Code of Conduct
    • PRFU Child Safeguarding Policy
    • Competition Sanctioning
  • CONTACT US
  • Shop
  • Hiring

news

Volcanoes fall to Korea. Retain fourth spot in Asian 5 Nations

5/25/2014

 
Picture
Photo: Mark Cristino
The Asian 5 Nations battle for third place ended with the Philippines falling to South Korea 22-52 in a match played in Southern Plains field in Laguna on Saturday 24 May. 

The favored Koreans were hot off the mark with two quick tries in the opening minutes of the game. The hosts held their own by responding with tries from Volcanoes captain, Oliver Saunders and full back Michael Letts. A successful conversion and penalty kick, also by the Philippines’ skipper saw the first half end with Korea leading the Philippines 28 – 15.

The visiting team started the second half much like the first, with two quick tries and successful conversions. The Volcanoes replied with a try from an interception by Matt Saunders, successfully converted by Alexander Aronson which brought the score to 22 – 47 in favor of Korea. Errors by the host team allowed Korea one more try in the last five minutes of the game resulting in a full time score of 22 – 52. 
Picture
Photo: Mark Cristino
“It was a tough game. Korea played very well and we made it hard for ourselves especially in the 2nd half with too many mistakes and not playing enough territory” said Captain Oliver Saunders after the match. “In saying that, we never gave up and played hard to the final whistle. Always proud of our team’s efforts.”

The result means that the Philippines finishes in its original rank of fourth in the Asian 5 Nations series and will join fifth place Sri Lanka as the top seeds in Division 1 next year, with Kazakhstan and Singapore. The new grouping is a result of the competition’s restructuring the Elite Division from Asia’s top five teams, to just three.

Of the series, Saunders further shares, “It’s been a hard 6 weeks for our squad. Each week we have improved our performance and that's something important that we always focus on doing. We saw a lot of new faces in the team this season, and that showed early on in the campaign, but they all gelled into our squad quickly.”

In closing, Saunders shared his thoughts on what’s next for the Volcanoes. “After maintaining our number four ranking in Asian 15s, hopefully we can do well in the Sevens arena too.” Rugby Sevens is the faster version of the game which will be played in the Asian Games in September. 

PH Volcanoes team selection for match vs South Korea announced

5/23/2014

 
Picture
The Philippine Rugby Football Union is proud to announce the players that have been selected for the Philippines' Asian 5 Nations match against South Korea on Saturday, May 24.
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Name
Dacanay, Austin Garnica
Abraham, Phil Benares
Sinclair, Philip
Feeney, David
Heward, Ashley Matias
Bweheni, Timothy
Fong, Ronald Keh
Howorth, Stephen Pagtalunan
Letts, Jake Robrigado
Saunders, Oliver Abalos (captain)
Holgate, Gareth dela Rosa
Coveney, Justin Villazor
Saunders, Matthew Abalos
Stern, Kenneth Capinpin
Letts, Michael Robrigado
Sekiguchi, Masayuki 
Robinson-Polkey, David Paz
Anderson, Christopher
Seeto, Darran Centillas
Gomez, Cleo Ferrer
Aronson, Alexander Norona
Melrose, Daniel Apale
Morris, Harry Dionson
Position
Loose Head (FR)
Hooker (FR)
Tight Head (FR)
Lock
Lock
Flanker
Flanker
No. 8
Scrum Half
Outside Half
Wing
Center
Center
Wing
Full Back
Reserve 
Reserve 
Reserve 
Reserve
Reserve
Reserve
Reserve
Reserve
Head coach: Stuart Woodhouse
Asst. coach: Nathan Holman
Manager: Matthew Cullen
Physiotherapist: Dean Mottee

The match will be played at 3:30pm on Saturday, May 24 at the Southern Plains Field, Calamba Laguna (Silangan Exit). Admission is free.

The winner of the match will earn a third place finish in the A5N Premier Division. Due to the restructuring of the competition in 2015 reducing the top tier teams from five to only three, the losing team will join Sri Lanka in Division 1 next year.

The Asian 5 Nations is the premier Rugby Union competition in Asia held among the top five national Rugby sides in the region: Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong,  Philippines and Sri Lanka.

For more information on the A5N visit: www.asian5nations.com

Philippine National Games 2014 Rugby 7s

5/19/2014

 
The PRFU was delighted once again to be invited to this year's Philippine National Games (PNG) by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee. The games were held last May 17 at Nomad Sports Club in Merville Subdivision, Parañaque City. 

This year's PNG 7s saw an increase in number of registered teams. From last year's 12 men's teams and 4 women's teams, this year saw 15 men's teams and 4 women's teams. Now on it's third year, this PNG 7s was made more special with the debuts of three regional teams - the Davao Durians, the Cagayan de Oro Rugby Club, and the Cebu Lady Dragons.
Picture
Rugby 7s is an exciting sport and promotes action, speed, agility and teamwork. It is a perfect sport for any young Filipino athletes who enjoy the challenge of playing a dynamic contact sport. The PRFU restricted participation to the PNG Rugby 7s tournament to Filipino Heritage players only.  It was exciting to see over 200 Filipino athletes take the field to compete to become the top Rugby 7s teams in the country.

CUP DIVISION: Alabang Eagles - Cup Champion for 3 Straight Years

Picture
The mighty Alabang Eagles team captured the Cup division title for the third consecutive year with a 45-0 win against the CBRE Maverick Vipers A. Composed by Volcanoes and National Development Team players, the Eagles proved once again why they are the best sevens team in the country.  They scored a whopping total of 126 points for the whole tournament with no points scored against them. Rupert Zappia set up most of his team’s tries and was later awarded the MVP medal. The CBRE Maverick Vipers A team fought hard in the finals game but was outran and out muscled by the more experienced Eagles team. The Maverick Vipers had to overcome a gutsy Cebu Dragons side in the semis to earn the right to face the Eagles. The Maverick Vipers team won by a successful conversion kick (14-12) to gain a spot in the finals. 


WOMEN’S DIVISION: Xena Win Nail-biter Against Cebu Lady Dragons

Picture
The women’s division finals match was once again the most exciting game in the tournament. Manila-based Xena won by a slim margin (14-12) against VISMIN’s pride, the Cebu Lady Dragons. With both teams having a record of 2 wins and a draw after the pool rounds, it was the Cebu ladies which topped the ranking with 35 F-A points compared to Xena’s 27 F-A points. Awesome defense by both ends resulted to scoreless 2 minutes into the game.  An opportunity opened up for Xena when an overlap of players on the blind side of a ruck 80 meters from the score line saw a 2 versus 1 situation. Winger Nikki Lira used her superb speed to outrun her defender and score in between the posts to score the game’s first try. It was skipper Ada Milby who ran the length of the field to score Xena’s second try when an advantage was given after a knock on play. Both tries were converted and half time score was 14-0 for Xena.


Picture
Cebu Lady Dragons were able to regroup on the break and came out on fire at the second half. Skipper Luisa Jordan led the charge with a huge tackle and counter ruck right after their kick off. The Lady Dragons stole the ball and caught Xena unprepared for defense. Ching Alerta found a gap and scored the Lady Dragons’ first try of the match which was successfully converted.  With a few minutes remaining in the match, Jordan made a break on the wing 60 meters from the try line and was able to offload the ball to a supporting Dixie Yu.  Yu outran her defenders and scored her team’s second try. Try wasn't converted and score remained at 14-12. Few seconds remained in the match and Xena only needed to maintain possession of the ball while the Lady Dragons needed to steal the ball. A penalty for a high tackle from a Cebu player gave the chance to Xena to kick out the ball and secure their win. Hats off to both teams for a very exciting and intense finals match for PNG 7s. Lira was awarded the MVP of the tournament for scoring the most points for her team and for her courageous defense. Watch these teams play again against each other in the PRFU Women’s 15s Invitational tournament next month.


PLATE DIVISION: Alabang Ibons Win Plate Trophy Over QCPU Questors B

Picture
Alabang Ibons won the Plate championship against the QCPU Questors B team with a score of 15-7. The Ibons team, composed mostly of former university basketball players, used their size to their advantage against the speedy QCPU boys. Most of these players only started playing the sport mid last year and has already shown a lot of potential because of their natural athletic abilities. The QCPU boys played well and managed to sneak in a try and conversion but time was not enough for them to make a comeback. Ibons’ Kenneth Balasote was awarded the Plate MVP.  


BOWL DIVISION: QCPU Questors A Beat UMAK Herons A to Win Bowl

Picture
University rivals QCPU Questors A and UMAK Herons A faced off again in a finals match for this year’s PNG 7s. Last year, the QCPU boys beat the UMAK boys in a tightly-contested Plate finals match to secure their gold medal finish. This year, QCPU gave the same results and won 15-0 to secure another gold medal finish. Because of his speed and strength combination and overall team leadership, QCPU captain Mark Jerald Esteban was awarded the MVP of the Bowl division.


SHIELD DIVISION: CDO Rugby Club Win Shield on their PNG 7s Debut

Picture
Newly formed Cagayan de Oro Rugby Club proved they are a team to watch out for in the future when they won the Shield finals match (27-5) against the UMAK Herons B. Playing only for a few months, the Rafters impressed the spectators with their impressive tackling technique and strength in contact. Noel Villa, founder and playing coach for the Rafters, led the team’s attack. Luis Banaag showed everyone that there’s no backing out in a game of Rugby when he continued to play the remaining games after he got hit hard from a previous game. For his courageous effort, he was awarded the Shield MVP medal.  

The PNG allowed the PRFU to showcase the growing sport of Rugby 7s and the Filipino athletes were extremely proud to compete to win National PSC medals. Rugby 7s is now played at the SEA, Asian and Olympic Games, and the PSC are looking to build further Rugby 7s programs to claim medals at these events.

The PRFU would like to thank the Philippine Sports Commission for inviting Rugby 7s to be a sport once again at the 2014 Philippine National Games and Nomad Sports Club for once again hosting the tournament.
Official PNG results that are registered with the Philippine Sports Commission for 2014:


GOLD MEDAL

CUP DIVISION

Alabang Eagles
WOMEN'S DIVISION

Xena
PLATE DIVISION

Alabang Ibons
BOWL DIVISION

QCPU Questor A
SHIELD DIVISION

CDO Rugby Club
SILVER MEDAL
CUP DIVISION

CBRE Maverick Vipers A
WOMEN'S DIVISION

Cebu Lady Dragons
PLATE DIVISION

QCPU Questors B
BOWL DIVISION

UMAK Herons A
SHIELD DIVISION

UMAK Herons B
BRONZE MEDAL
CUP DIVISION

Clark Rugby Club
WOMEN'S DIVISION

UMAK Lady Herons
PLATE DIVISION

Immortals
BOWL DIVISION

MAAP Warriors B
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Men's Cup Division: Rupert Zappia
Ladies Division: Nikki Lira
Men's Plate Division: Kenneth Balasote
Men's Bowl Division: Mark Jerald Estebam
Men's Shield Division: Luis Banaag
FINAL RANKINGS


Cup Division
Alabang Eagles
CBRE Maverick Vipers A
Clark Rugby Club
Cebu Dragons


Women's Division
Xena
Cebu Lady Dragons
UMAK Lady Herons
QCPU Lady Questors


Plate Division
Alabang Ibons
QCPU Questors B
Immortals
Davao Durians


Bowl Division
QCPU Questors A
UMAK Herons A
MAAP Warriors B
CBRE Maverick Vipers B


Shield Division
CDO Rugby Club
UMAK Herons B
MAAP Warriors A
Photo gallery (All  photos on this page by Mark Cristino)

Volcanoes snatch victory in Sri Lanka

5/18/2014

 
The Philippine Volcanoes snatched a win from Sri Lanka’s clutches at the last second of play at the Asian 5 Nations tournament in Colombo.

The host country scored first with a penalty kick early in the first half which was answered by the Volcanoes with a try from perennial scorer, Matt Saunders. The rest of the first half was a seesaw battle which ended with the Philippines leading 19 – 17, with the Volcanoes’ tries coming from David Feeney, Steve Howorth and two conversions by Captain Oliver Saunders.

A try from an unlucky bounce and a converted penalty kick gave Sri Lanka the lead in the second half with the Volcanoes failing to capitalize on one of the Tuskers getting sent off the field with a yellow card. With the score at 25 – 19 in favor of Sri Lanka in the 86th minute (overtime due to time lost for injuries) Volcanoes scrum-half Jake Letts drove the ball over the Tuskers forward pack for a try, bringing the score to 25 – 24. Fly half Alex Aronson was tasked to convert the try for an additional 2 points. Aronson’s kick was unsuccessful, however the referee declared that the Tuskers charged towards the Philippine kicker too early and ordered a re-kick. Aronson’s second attempt from 23 meters was successful, giving the Philippines a 26-25 victory over Sri Lanka.
PicturePhoto © SLRFU | Dennis Muthuthanthri
"It was a brutal encounter and a great win away from home in front of a vocal home ground" said Head Coach Stu Woodhouse after the match.  "It was Sri Lanka's last game and we showed some good character to overcome the odds late in the game to come away with our first win." 

The Volcanoes’ most-capped player Jake Letts had this to say about his heroic try “It just happened so quickly. I saw a little gap and was able to dart through. The next thing I remember, I was forcing myself to score the try. I was worried that I would lose the ball. Luckily, I didn’t.”

PicturePhoto © SLRFU | Dennis Muthuthanthri
“For the second kick I just thought that this was the moment that you dream of when you play sports” shared Alex Aronson, “I tried to calm myself down, go through my routine and just kick it. I’m just glad it was successful. I don’t know what I would have done if I let my teammates down; they all played so hard.”

“Our boys showed a lot of resilience. I’m very proud of our team for never giving up. The culture & brotherhood that the Volcanoes have is something special to be a part of. It’s great to finally give our supporters a win.” said Captain Oliver Saunders. 

The victory gives the Philippines its first win in the A5N series, ensuring that the Volcanoes don’t finish at the bottom of the Elite Division in 2014.
 
The Volcanoes face South Korea on home soil in their final game of the series on Saturday, May 24 at Southern Plains Field in Laguna.

Get Into Rugby Festival/CBRE Juniors Tournament for the Month of May

5/14/2014

 
May’s Get Into Rugby(GIR) Festival Juniors Tournament sponsored by CBRE for 2014 was held on May 3rd at the Southern Plains Eagles Nest Clubhouse.  Running as a morning festival in preparation for the afternoon game between Japan and the Philippine Volcanoes for the A5N series, there was an impressive turnout for the day including the newly formed Marikina Juniors and Alabang Eagles Juniors teams.

Picture
The u10 games between BSM and Eagles Juniors started the day off with a big win for the new team playing in their first tournament. Winning two games and one draw, the Eagles Juniors are off to a promising start. The U12 division proved to be more difficult for the Eagles as they played against the very established teams like CRC and SOS. Their knowledge and game experience clearly made a difference in their games. Hapons came out looking to set the precedence like their senior side would play in the afternoon and played with fervor and discipline. They won two of their 3 games, with just a marginal loss to CRC at 1-2. Mavericks had good day in this division as they pushed to play four games instead of the standard three. Quest SOS, Leighton Tuloy, and CRC continue to be powerhouses in this division either winning or drawing all their games. 


Picture
The u14 division included the debut of the Marikina Juniors. They didn’t win their games, but they learned a lot from these first games and are excited about returning for future tournaments.   All teams played well but the game to watch in this division was between CBRE Mavericks and Leighton Tuloy. A tight game with both teams battling to come out on top. In the final moments, Tuloy scored the winning try for a final score of 4-3.


Picture
The lower final scores in the u16 division, show that defensive skills are developing in this age group. The mainstay teams like Leighton Tuloy, CRC and Quest SOS continue to lead the packs, but up and coming teams like G4S Childhope and HMR Southridge and Don Bosco teams are putting up good fights and the scores continue to narrow. 


The tournament was followed by the Asian 5 Nations game between the Philippine Volcanoes and 13th ranked team in the world, Japan. Players from the juniors teams joined the Volcanoes and the Hapons joined Japan on the field for the playing of national anthems to round out this full day of rugby. Thank you to Alabang Eagles, CBRE and all our sponsors for a successful tournament. The next GIR Festival Juniors Tournament sponsored by CBRE is scheduled for August 30.

<<Previous
    Stay connected with us!
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010

    Categories

    All
    Alabang Eagles
    Alabang Ibons
    Al Caravelli
    ALCU Games
    Arfu
    Asian 5 Nations
    Asian Rugby 7s Series
    Bahay Bata
    Batang Pinoy
    Bison
    Borneo 7s
    Cdo Rugby
    Cebu Dragons
    Cebu Lady Dragons
    Clark Jets
    Clark Rugby Club
    Coaching
    Contests
    Csr
    Davao Durians
    Development
    Development Team
    Duyan Ni Maria
    Education
    Globe Immortals
    Hong Kong 7s
    Immortals
    Internationals
    Juniors
    Kiama 7s
    Lady Volcanoes
    Local Tournaments
    Malaysia 7s
    Manila Hapons
    Manila Mayhem
    Manila Nomads
    Manila Vipers
    MANSAC
    Mavericks
    Men's 10s
    Men's 15s
    Men's 7s
    Misc
    Mumbai 7s
    Nomads Carabaos
    Pamantasan Lungsod Ng Maynila
    Pamantasan Lungsod Ng Muntinlupa
    Philippines A Team
    Philippine Volcanoes
    Prfu League
    Pune 7s
    Quezon City Polytechnic University
    Rugby 101
    Rugby World Cup
    Rugby World Cup 7s
    Shanghai 7s
    Singapore 7s
    Taguig City University
    Tarsiers
    Team Selection
    Thailand 7s
    Touraid
    Under 14s
    Under 16s
    Under 18s
    Under 20s
    University Of Makati
    Victory
    Videos
    Vismin Rfu
    Women
    Women's 10s
    Women's 15s
    Women's 7s

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Picture

    SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter

Subscribe


© Philippine Rugby Football Union 2014-2020
  • ABOUT US
    • Calendar
    • Strategic Plan
    • Sponsor Rugby
    • RUGBY 101
    • Constitution and By Laws
    • Lifetime Members
    • Growing the Game - Retention Strategy
    • Sustainability
    • Audited Financial Statement
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • CLUB RUGBY & YOUTH RUGBY
    • Club Rugby
    • Schools & Youth Rugby
    • Get Into Rugby
    • Development Team
    • Training and Education
    • Support Foundation Programs
    • PRFU New Player Registration
    • Club Rugby Player Registration
    • Match Officials >
      • COVID-19 - Return to Rugby
    • Domestic Rugby Results >
      • PRFU 15s >
        • 2020 15s
      • PRFU 7s >
        • 2019 PRFU 7s
  • NATIONAL TEAMS
    • Player Recruitment
    • Player Profiles >
      • Men's 15s
      • Women's 15s
      • Men's 7s
      • Women's 7s
      • Rising Stars
    • National Women's Program
    • Men's 7s
    • Men's 15s
    • National Development Teams
    • National Youth Teams
    • National Teams Resource Page
  • PRFU POLICY STATEMENTS
    • Player Welfare
    • World Rugby Anti-Doping Regulations
    • PRFU Code of Conduct
    • PRFU Child Safeguarding Policy
    • Competition Sanctioning
  • CONTACT US
  • Shop
  • Hiring