The Alabang Eagles travelled to Cebu this past weekend to support the Women’s International match and play their Cup round against the Cebu Dragons. The Eagles who were coming off a loss to Nomads, had to defeat the Dragons in order to cement a place in the JML 15s League finals.

The Cebu Dragons had a positive start to the game and pressured the Eagles from the kick off, this resulted in the Eagles giving away a simple penalty in front of the posts and Jerry Branzuela stepped to slot the Dragons first points. Unfortunately this would be the last points the Dragons would score until late in

the game as the Alabang Eagles took full control of the game and piled on 90 unanswered points to send a strong signal to the Nomads that the Eagles are ready for the JML 15s Finals. The speedy Eagles backline were in dominant form as they piled on 14 tries and seemed to run at will with Captain Tim Bweheni consistently making inroads into the Dragons defence. Young gun Tim Smith who played for the Philippine National u16s last year converted 13 shots to rake up 26 solo points and is a bright star for future National underage teams.

Under coach and player Dan Moutin, the Eagles forwards played with more discipline and Veve Apolosa was hard to stop as he charged into the Dragons forwards and also made several blockbusting tackles to create turnovers. 

The Dragons tried to combat the Eagles onslaught but were unable to keep possession for more than three phases and struggled in the set pieces as the Eagles larger forwards applied constant pressure at every scrum and lineout.

Dragons Captains Noel Flowers and Jerry Branzuela kept rallying the Dragons players to fight until the end and newcomer backs Dean Bates and Tony Tualo from New Zealand showed signs that the Dragons can rebuild from this loss in their first outing in Cebu. The Dragons Captains frustration boiled over and both players were out on their feet by the end of the game.

The Final score was Eagles 90 Cebu Dragons 8 and the Eagles will now meet the Manila Nomads in the JML 15s Cup Finals to be played at the Eagles new home field in Silangan next Saturday June 9th. The finals will feature the three Men’s divisions, Cup, Plate and Bowl.  The Women’s Division will rest as they prepare to play in the Asian Women’s Division 2 Championships against Laos, Singapore and Thailand in Manila on June 14 and 16th.

Banking on their superior speed, endurance and power moves, the Singapore squad came from behind to frustrate the Philippine Lady Volcanoes, 36-10, in the 1st International Ladies 15s Rugby Football Challenge played on June 2 at the Cebu International School (CIS) field.

Inspired by the cheers of hometown fans, led by no less than Cebu City Mayor, Michael L. Rama, the Lady Volcanoes coasted to a rousing 5-0 start through fullback Aiumi Ono.

Unfortunately, that came to be Philippines only bright moment as it was an all-Singapore show after that, with the visitors from the Lion City firing back with an explosive 19-0 blast behind the efforts of Xie Xing, Samantha Teo, Ester Ta, and Archanabala to seize full control of the match.

The Lady Volcanoes tried to salvage some measure of pride but kept giving turnovers and struggled in the scrums. However the Lady Volcanoes' efforts to get back in the match were rewarded by a short range try, again from Aiumi Ono.

Capitalizing on the shallow defence of the Lady Volcanoes, the Singaporeans padded their lead courtesy of Chan Siayu and Gloria Sharp with a try each. Even though they sensed that the Lady Volcanoes were already slowing down, the Singaporeans continued to play aggressively on both ends, with Bliss Tan sealing their victory.

Singapore coach Muhammad Zaki was very impressed with his team as they showed great teamwork even if they were formed just two months ago.

"The girls here are university players and we have trained for only two months. The Filipino girls played well, it's just that they have not practiced together for long." said Zaki.

For the Lady Volcanoes, they must learn a lesson or two from that setback.

There will be practically no rest for the Filipino ladies as they will see action next in the ARFU Women's 4 Nations Division 2 on June 13-17 in Manila against Laos, Thailand and Singapore.

The Philippine Rugby Football Union is proud to announce that it has been awarded the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) Development Award for 2012.

Announced at the ARFU Council Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on June 3, the prestigious award will be formally presented to the PRFU on November 18, 2012 during the ARFU Annual General Meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Asian Rugby Football Union spans a vast territory from Kazakhstan in the north to Indonesia in the south and Lebanon in the west to Guam in the east. Of ARFU’s 28 member unions, 14 are full members of the International Rugby Board: China, Chinese Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. There are a further six associate IRB members in Asia: Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Laos, Mongolia and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan is the newest ARFU associate member union, joining in 2011, following Lebanon and UAE’s admission in December 2009.

The Development Award is given to a group or individual that has achieved outstanding success in the development of Rugby, at any level of the game or in the aspects of playing, coaching, administration, training, capital development or Rugby-related volunteer or charity initiatives. Apart from Philippine Rugby’s successes on the playing field, the ARFU recognized the PRFU’s activities in developing the sport of Rugby at the grassroots level through free training sessions, local 15s, 7s and 10s club leagues and its booming Juniors program which counts students from the International schools as well as several charitable foundations as its participants.

Alvin San Diego, PRFU President commented, “We are honored to be recognized by the Asian Rugby Football Union with this award. Without the efforts of the PRFU team, and more importantly, the many volunteers that persevered when the sport of Rugby was unknown and unheard of in the Philippines, this would not be possible.” He continued, “It has been a great year so far for Philippine Rugby, with the Volcanoes winning promotion to the Asian 5 Nations Elite Division and seeing action in the prestigious Hong Kong 7s International Tournament.  We have also seen growth in the local Rugby scene with new teams being formed and more people wanting to try the sport.”

The PRFU offers free Rugby 101 sessions every Monday and Wednesday at PhilSports Field in Pasig and every Sunday at the Sandtrap in Banilad, Cebu. Plans are underway to offer these sessions in Marikina and other areas of the country. Development officers are also teaching the sport to students at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, University of Makati, Quezon City Polytechnic University and to the children of Bahay Bata, Duyan ni Maria, Tuloy Foundation, Child Hope, Bulacan Rugby Club and WE Foundation in Smokey Mountain. The Union has also stepped up its efforts in providing training for coaches and match officials.

In closing, San Diego said “Our aim is to have Rugby become a sport widely recognized and played in the Philippines. This award certainly confirms that we are heading in the right direction. We look forward seeing more Filipinos playing and enjoying the great sport of Rugby.” 

Information on Rugby in the Philippines can be found at the PRFU’s official website www.prfu.com or on its social networking sites: www.facebook.com/PhilippinRugby and www.twitter.com/PhilippineRugby. 

Please click on the link below to download the press release.

The PRFU have selected the 24 players who will compete in the Asian Rugby Football Union Women's Division 2 Championships in Manila.

Lalaine Albarando 
Alice Almocera  
Amelia Bryere
Rose De La Cruz
Blessie De Los Santos
Mai Farjado
Jessica Filoteo 
Tonette Gambito
Eloisa Jordan
Aye Honoras
Ann Layumas
Nikki Lira 
Ada Milby (Captain)
Nicole Moore
Rozie Morala
Noreen Novero
Reena Novero
Aiumi Ono 
Anne Sajorne
Madille Salinas
Acee San Juan
Angelica Santican
Manila Santos
Cassie Umali (Vice-Captain)

Manila will play host to women's teams from Lao, Singapore and Thailand. The games will be played on Thursday, June 14 at Nomad Sports Club, Merville, Paranaque (7:30pm) and Saturday, June 16 (3pm) at Eagles Nest, Southern Plains, Silangan.