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Albay Bulkans on the highway to overnight success

7/29/2018

The Albay Bulkans Rugby Team. Source: World Rugby

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

Webb Ellis Cup crates a buzz about rugby on Volcano trip

7/28/2018

@PhilippineRugby Volcanoes internationals Lito Ramirez and Jonel Madrona and the Webb Ellis Cup at Taal Volcano #RWC2019

The William Webb Ellis Cup reaching new heights on top of Taal Volcano

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.

Manila Welcomes the Webb Ellis Cup as Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour Continues

7/27/2018

The Webb Ellis Cup from its recent tour at the Great Wall of China. Source: World Rugby

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

- The seventh leg of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour arrives in the Philippines
- Webb Ellis Cup to climb active volcano for touch rugby session with local junior players
- Activities joined by members of the Philippine Volcanoes team that won the Asia Rugby Division 1 title earlier this year
- The Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour continues to inspire new audiences and participants through a programme of community, education and rugby activities in the lead up to the first Rugby World Cup in Asia
- Strong growth in rugby participation across Asia with more than 500,000 new participants already involved in Rugby World Cup 2019 Impact Beyond legacy programme.

Members of the Philippine Volcanoes rugby team joined the seventh leg of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour for a spectacular start to the action in Manila with a climb up Taal Volcano.

Accompanied by children from local rugby development programmes, the Volcanoes used the arrival of the Webb Ellis Cup to inspire the next generation of players in a uniquely Filipino location – the world’s smallest active volcano.

Engaging young players forms a central theme of the Tour programme, with youth development players in the Philippines getting 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.

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 Philippine Rugby Football Union (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.

World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper said: “This is an exciting time for the growth of rugby in the Philippines and across Asia. The game continues to attract new participants and fans in record numbers as we approach one year to go to Rugby World Cup 2019, the first to be held in Asia.

“Bringing the tournament to Asia for the first time in 2019 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to increase participation across the continent and initiatives like the Trophy Tour help to spread the inspiration of Rugby World Cup 2019 far and wide. We have already seen the positive benefits of the Impact Beyond legacy programme to the region, with well over 500,000 participants already getting their first taste of rugby as part of our ambitious ‘Asia 1 Million’ project and look forward to continued growth of the game in the Philippines.”

Jake Letts, PRFU General Manager, spoke on the first day of the activities, saying: “It is a great honour to host the Webb Ellis Cup here in the Philippines as part of the build-up to Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan. We are seeing steady growth in rugby and the recent success of the national side in the Asia Rugby Division 1 along with the Trophy Tour helps us to continue to work towards a bright future for rugby in the Philippines.”

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.

Globe 7s Series to Feature Rugby Talents

7/26/2018

Manila, Philippines: After the success of the Philippine Volcanoes in their recent Asia Rugby Championships, Rugby in the Philippines is on a high and will return this weekend for the first Rugby 7s Festival for the year, Round 1 of the 2018 Globe Sevens Series.

Round one for the series will see eight teams face off in a two pool round robin format to decide the winner of the first round. Philippine Rugby has endorsed two divisions in the men’s series and a single division in the women’s.

The National Development division will showcase up and coming Pinoy talent, a platform to identify future Volcanoes and act as a recruitment tool for local Rugby development. The Open division will feature the country’s top players mixed with key players from the National Development division.

A total of six rugby festivals across July through to October will be played, with a points system to award the top team over the duration of the series. This will be the first time Philippine Rugby have used this format.

“For 2018 we are looking to mirror both the Asia Sevens Series & the World Sevens Series, incorporating Festivals rather than League rounds. Through the nature of the game, the PRFU are now able to award winning teams at each of the Festivals, rather than just award one team at the end of the season. This allows the club teams to win a specific tournament leg on the actual day itself” shared Jovan Masalunga, Competitions Manager for Philippine Rugby

With this structure, teams are able to focus on a singular festival to showcase their top talent. It provides the opportunity to technically have six different champion teams across six different festivals; however, only one team will be titled ‘Series Champions’. This will be based on the competitions points system after each festival.

“Moving the Sevens season to this structure is exciting, we get to witness the traditional Sevens festival atmosphere. By the end of round one, you will see which team was the best on the day; however that may not be the case for the following festival. The National Development Division this weekend will feature local talent like Lito Ramirez, Jonel Madrona, Johnly Baloloy and Ryan Padilla. The up and coming talent will be a highlight for this weekend so I am excited to see the players perform” shared Jake Letts.

Round 1 of the Globe Sevens Series starts this Saturday, July 28 at Southern Plains, Calamba from 9:30 AM. Participating teams for this round include Santos Knight Frank Mavericks, Eagles RFC, Bulacan Bombers, Albay Bulkans, Clark Jets, Makati Chiefs and La Liga Academy.

The Globe Sevens Series will be the featured Festivals in Manila, additional Rugby festivals across the Philippines include the Palawan 7s on August 10 and 11, the Kadawayan 7s Festival in Davao on August 18, followed by the FatBoys 10s in Clark in September and the Cebu 10s in November.

Albay Bulkans on the highway to overnight success

Webb Ellis Cup crates a buzz about rugby on Volcano trip

Manila Welcomes the Webb Ellis Cup as Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour Continues

Globe 7s Series to Feature Rugby Talents

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