FANCY travelling all night in a 14-seater coach, arriving at 6am after a 12-hour journey and then playing your first game four hours later? Meet the Albay Bulkans, the Philippines’ most southerly rugby team in the shadow of the Mayon Volcano, who travelled to the Development Series Sevens at Southern Plains, Laguna in Manilla. A day of Sevens later, after playing in front of the Webb Ellis Cup, which was visiting as part of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour, the 12 players headed off for the overnight return leg, arriving back at 10am on Sunday morning after the 1,000km trip. This is a journey they have done twice a month for the past three seasons since Ric Bellen arrived in the Legazpi region and spread the rugby message following his time with the Maap Warriors in Manila.
“When I married and moved south I joined soccer, volleyball and basketball to find friends. But when they saw me catching and kicking the ball I told them about rugby,” said Bellen, a rugby development officer for the Philippine Rugby Union. “When I’m asked about why they should play rugby I tell people that wherever there is a rugby club there is a family for you. In 2014 there were just four guys playing rugby - this year we won the Manila 10s. “We can’t afford to stay anywhere overnight so we travel back overnight and do a bit of recovery when we get home. The journey is sometimes harder than the games!” But this only half the story of how rugby has made a difference to the group of 18-22 year-olds. During the eruption of the Mayon between March and June this year, an area of 20km around the volcano was evacuated. Former maritime cadet turned computer engineer Bellen and his team-mates supported the Red Cross and the Health Office in the relief effort. “Through my role as a development officer and with the team we were able to help deliver food parcels to schools and temporary shelters and to help in a small way,” said Bellen. And with that Bellen and the Bulkans headed back down the Pan-Philippine Highway – ready to do it all again next month. From Manila the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour will continue to India in August before heading to Japan for Rugby World Cup 2019 one year to go celebrations. The tour will excite the global rugby family and drive fan engagement ahead of Rugby World Cup 2019. Click here to view the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour schedule. Click here for images from the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour in the Philippines. Rugby World Cup 2019 takes place from 20 September - 2 November 2019. There has been strong demand for Rugby World Cup 2019 with more than 1.5 million ticket applications already received. Further information on how to purchase tickets can be found at www.rugbyworldcup.com/tickets. Source: World Rugby THE world’s smallest active volcano may be sleeping at the moment but the visit of the Webb Ellis Cup is helping rugby erupt in the Philippines. The Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour arrived in Manila and headed up the Taal Volcano – accompanied by members of the Philippine Volcanoes national team, Philippine Rugby Football Union development officers and young players representing clubs and foundations. It was the first day of a four-day trip which will include a sevens festival and club training day where players will get the opportunity to get up close and personal with rugby’s greatest prize. The coveted piece of silverware is on an 18-month tour in the lead up to Asia’s first ever Rugby World Cup, to be held in Japan in 2019. Braving the rain, the group of players from the Clark Jets, Santos Knight Frank Mavericks, Bulacan Bombers, Kaingin 1 Quezon City and SOS Manila and Haven For Children foundations trekked to the top of the crater. Philippine international Madille Salinas, coach of Kaingin 1 Quezon City and PRFU Development Officer, said: “It’s a great privilege for us to have the Rugby World Cup trophy here. I posted a picture on social media of the Cup inviting people to come and have their photograph with the trophy and everyone is so excited. It’s a big opportunity for these young people here today.” Adrian Alvarez,12, from Bulacan Bombers, said: “I really enjoyed today. I liked having pictures taken with the trophy at the volcano. I’ve been playing rugby for four years and I love it, it’s so much fun.” Whilst in Manila, the Trophy Tour will visit the opening day of a local Rugby Sevens Festival at Southern Plains. Boasting a number of national players, the festival is a hotbed of local and national talent. And on Sunday the trophy will be guest of honour at a training session at McKinley Hill Stadium before it heads to a central shopping mall, where local junior development teams will be invited to attend sessions with the Webb Ellis Cup and national team players. The Trophy Tour will attend a Get Into Rugby session on Monday run by the PRFU. The Get Into Rugby programme is part of World Rugby’s strategy to grow the game globally in partnership with member regions and unions, aiming to encourage players of all ages to Try, Play and Stay in rugby. As of the end of November 2017, Asia Rugby boasted over 680,000 Get Into Rugby participants, the most of any region, with 36 percent of participants female, reaffirming the strong potential for rugby’s growth in this youthful region of the world. From Manila the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour will continue to India in August before heading to Japan for Rugby World Cup 2019 one year to go celebrations. The tour will excite the global rugby family and drive fan engagement ahead of Rugby World Cup 2019. Click here to view the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour schedule. Rugby World Cup 2019 takes place from 20 September - 2 November 2019. There has been strong demand for Rugby World Cup 2019 with more than 1.5 million ticket applications already received. Further information on how to purchase tickets can be found at www.rugbyworldcup.com/tickets. Communities across Manila have the chance to see Rugby’s most coveted trophy as it climbs an iconic volcano, supports local rugby clubs and a sevens festival
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