The CBRE/Get into Rugby Juniors Tournament for the month of September was held last September 28, 2013 at Nomad Sports Club in Parañaque. 27 teams from various schools, clubs, and foundations all over Manila and nearby province Pampanga gathered to compete in this month’s tournament. Over 250 junior ruggers showed up to prove they are the best in their age group. All these teams are part of the PRFU juniors’ development/Get into Rugby program. 

This tournament edition welcomed the debut of three new teams: De La Salle Zobel, Southridge School in Parañaque, and a group of indigenous Aeta kids from Pampanga. All these teams have only been training for a month or two before the tournament. The kids were also introduced to the first ever juniors under 12 tackle game between the Mavericks and CRC-Aeta.

In the u8 and u10 best of 3 touch games, it was the more experienced Mavericks team who dominated over their rival British School Manila by winning 5 out of their 6 games and drawing 1 game. BSM, who just came back from school summer break, still put up a good fight and made sure the Mavericks kids worked hard for their every score. 

The u12 division featured the BSM, Mavericks, Quest SOS, CRC, and new teams Southridge and La Salle. Mavericks still topped this division because of their wins over BSM and Southridge and a draw against CRC. Quest SOS and CRC were tied at second place, both with 2 wins and a draw. La Salle and Southridge made sure to give a good impression and scored hard-earned tries against their more experienced opponents. 

It was the CRC boys who proved they are the best in the u14 division. With two wins and no losses, these boys from Pampanga gave their opponents a tough time as they showed their awesome teamwork and exceptional speed. Their Pampanga neighbors, the new Aeta team, came in at close second with one win and a draw.

The u16 division still showed the dominance of the CRC and the Aeta kids. Some of the CRC players have already represented the Philippines in various juniors 7s and 15s international tournaments. The Aeta kids also showed a lot of promise and potential. Their natural athletic ability stood out against the veteran teams. 

In the first ever juniors u12 7s tackle match, it was the Mavericks team who won over their opponent by scoring a single try. Both teams fought bravely in every ruck situation and dove for every loose ball in their first full-contact game. The match showed a lot of good, solid tackles from the CRC-Aeta kids and hard, aggressive running from the Mavericks kids. Congratulations to both teams for being part of a milestone in Philippine Rugby.

The Mavericks team won over CRC in the u14 10s tackle match. CRC had a hard time against the burly Mavericks forwards. Missed one on one tackles and ball possession were the key factors that affected the match. Gaps were created and tries were made by the Mavericks boys. CRC scored a consolation try in the end because of great footwork and excellent speed. Match ended with 25 to 7 for the Mavericks.

CRC fought back with a win in the u16 10s tackle match. Led by Junior Volcanoes standouts Jonel Madrona and Kingsley Ballesteros, the CRC boys won over Mavericks 26 to 5. The Mavericks had a hard time stopping the speedy CRC boys. Thus, they scored a series of runaway tries that led to the final score.

Thank you to all the teams who participated this month and congratulations to all the winners. The next CBRE/Get Into Rugby Juniors Tournament will be held in conjunction with the PSC Batang Pinoy National Youth Games on October 19 at Iba, Zambales. Teams from Davao and Cebu will compete in the said tournament. All players born 1998 or later are encouraged to join. To know more about this tournament, contact Acee San Juan at aceesanjuan@prfu.com.


Touch Teams:

Under 8

Mavericks

British School Manila


Under 10

Mavericks

British School Manila


Under 12

Quest SOS Children’s Village

De La Salle Zobel

Southridge School

Mavericks

British School Manila

Clark Rugby Club


Under 14

Quest SOS Children’s Village

Southridge School

Mavericks

Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation

Clark Rugby Club

Aeta


Under 16

Southridge School

Mavericks

Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation

Clark Rugby Club

Aeta


Tackle Teams:

Under 12

Clark Rugby Club-Aeta

Mavericks


Under 14

Clark Rugby Club

Mavericks


Under 16

Clark Rugby Club

Mavericks

After two days of intense competition, the Philippine National Men’s team took home the top prize in the Plate Division at the Thailand leg of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series. They finished ahead of other Asian counterparts including Singapore, Malaysia, China, Kazakhstan and finally defeated Thailand on home soil.

It was an up and down affair for the Volcanoes who came second in their pool behind top-ranked Japan on the first day, only to fall to Korea in the Quarter Finals of the Cup Division on the second day. The loss placed them in the Plate Division, where they faced Kazakhstan in the Semi Finals. After trailing 10-0 at halftime, the Volcanoes rallied to win the match 14-10 which set them up for a Finals battle with host country, Thailand.

The Volcanoes started the game with a try by the Philippines’ top-scorer, Gareth Holgate which Thailand responded to with their own try and conversion. Another try by the Philippines brought the score to 10-7 at half time. The start of the second half saw the Volcanoes down to 6 men as Chris Hitch was sent off with a yellow card. Thailand capitalized on the mismatch with a try and conversion which gave them the lead, however upon his return to the pitch, Hitch made up for his earlier mistake by scoring a breakaway try, giving the lead back to the Philippines 15-14. The Philippines scored another try, this time by Sean Lynch and conversion by Holgate, ending the match 22-14 to take the Plate trophy.

“The Thailand 7s has seen an improvement in the Volcanoes rankings for 2013. Although some of our top players were unavailable due to commitments in Japan, the team that attended Thailand showed that we can win at the Asian Championships.” said Volcanoes coach, Matt Cullen.

“The three outstanding players from this tour all attended the Rugby World Cup in June and showed their quality. Chris Hitch was absolutely dynamic in every game, Gareth Holgate was the top try scorer and Volcanoes newcomer Sean Lynch has erupted onto the Asian 7s scene, impressing everyone with his blockbusting runs” he added.

Despite this victory, the Volcanoes are not resting on their laurels, but rather looking ahead to the next two legs of the series and the Asian Games in 2014. 

Co-captain Oliver Saunders shares “Our boys showed a lot of heart and determination to finish the tournament by winning the Plate Division, despite having a few injuries. But the most important game is the Cup Quarter Final on Sunday morning -- we need to win that game to consolidate a top 4 finish in each tournament.  If we can do that, then we will have a solid ranking heading into the Asian games next year.”

“Of course we are happy that we won the Plate, but we are not content with our performance. " added co-captain Jake Letts. "We know that we can do better. A full game of Sevens Rugby only goes for 15 minutes, so there's really no time to recover from mistakes. We need to eliminate our errors to be able to get the results that we want in Mumbai and Singapore."

The Thailand Sevens was played on September 21-22 in Bang Sean, Pattaya.

The Volcanoes will travel to Mumbai for the third leg of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series in October and then to Singapore in November for the tournament’s final stage. A good ranking at the end of the year will put the Volcanoes in good stead for the Asian Games 2014 in Korea.

Philippine Volcanoes Thailand 7s Team:

Alexander Norona Aronson
Christian Desacola Enriquez
Christopher Alamil Everingham
Christopher Baltazar Hitch
Gareth Dela Rosa Holgate
Robert Amalay Jones
Jake Robrigado Letts (C)
Sean Celada Lynch
Harry Dionson Morris
Oliver Abalos Saunders (C)
Eric Tai
Rupert Dian Zappia

Head coach: Matthew Cullen
Manager: Christopher Hettel
Physiotherapist: Rico Barin

Congratulations to the following players who have been selected to be part of the Lady Volcanoes team for the Asian Women's Sevens Series.

Players:
∙ Charmaine Bolando
∙ Tonette Gambito
∙ Kaye Honoras
∙ Luisa Jordan
∙ Nikki Lira
∙ Ada Milby (c)
∙ Astrid Sadaya
∙ Jen Saldo
∙ Madille Salinas
∙ Acee San Juan
∙ Sylvia Tudoc
∙ Cassie Umali

Management Staff:
Head Coach: Susan Konstanty
Team Manager: Arlene Trinkler
Physiotherapist: Alyssa Paula Tomas

The team will compete in the Asian Women's Sevens Series which will be held in conjunction with the Thailand Sevens on September 20-22, 2013 at the IBE Chonburi Main Stadium, Bang Sean.