​The U18 national girls rugby team, sponsored by MVP Sports Foundation and First Pacific, have embarked on an international tour to India as part of Philippine Rugby’s continuous growth to develop women’s rugby across Asia. 

The Philippines will join 11 other nations as part of the 3 day event, with the opening ceremony kicking off tonight before the first round of games. The young lady Volcanoes have drawn top seeds China, Laos and Qatar in Pool A. Other nations competing in the event include Sri Lanka, UAE, Bangladesh, Thailand, Hong Kong, Nepal, Chinese Taipei and hosts India. 

​The national youth womens team comprises of the top up and coming talent across the country. The athletes have been selected as part of the grassroots development program across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Inna Kwan represents Cebu and the Visayas, Diana Cosare, Aira Lumanta and the Hifume sisters Angelie & Angela representing Davao and Mindanao. Maylene Dadivas of the Makati Chiefs, Ysabel Del Fierro of the Santos Knight Frank Mavericks and Yamani Dumlao of the Subic Sharks also being selected. Four members of Eagles RFC will compete the line up, Satchi Gonzalez, Briela Baui, Atasha Muhlach and Nicole Kovanen all representing Luzon. 

The U18s Girls Sevens program has been running for two years, a positive investment into the ongoing development of womens Rugby in the Philippines according to Jake Letts of Philippine Rugby. “It’s important for Philippine Rugby to continue to develop grassroots and national youth programs, without them, we don’t have a future. These athletes will become our next generation of elite national players who will go onto represent the Philippines in future SEA Games, Asian Games, and hopefully, one day in the Olympics”. 

​The Philippine Rugby program has been backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and MVP Sports Foundation in addition to other corporate sponsors. The recent success of the Women’s Lady Volcanoes in Brunei just last weekend shows the signs of a positive path for the women’s sevens program.

“Our ladies finished with a Silver Medal last weekend in Brunei, winning 5 from 6 games. The U18s players featured in India this weekend will have their eyes set on making the next step up to the women’s team after this tournament. We want to be able to expose these girls to international standards of play for their development. Truth is, they have what it takes to play in next years SEA Games. They need to show signs of that this weekend” shared Letts. 

Nicole Kovanen is the sole player who has already made the next step. Kovanen boasts strength, power and was part of the Lady Volcanoes silver medal winning team. She will be a key figure for the girls this weekend. The U18s will be coached by experienced Lady Volcano Kaye Honoras, with the assistance of Chris Everingham for Strength & Conditioning and Performance. 

For live streaming, follow Philippine Rugby on Facebook. Match schedule below:

October 26 Friday: 
vs. China @ 22:52 PH time

October 27 Saturday: 
vs. Laos @ 16:50 PH time
vs. Qatar @ 18:52 PH time 

October 28 Sunday
*finals to be decided

​The Philippine national women’s rugby team, the Lady Volcanoes finished with an impressive win/loss record in Brunei over the weekend for the 2018 Asia Trophy Series. The Lady Volcanoes bagged the silver medal winning five games straight, before falling just short in the Gold Medal match. 

The 2018 Asia Trophy Series was contested over two days, with 10 teams competing. The Philippines drew Uzbekistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal in Pool B; in Pool A saw Indonesia, Malaysia, Guam, Brunei and Laos.

The Lady Volcanoes, sponsored by First Pacific and MVP Sports Foundation, started their first game with a strong performance defeating Uzbekistan 12 points to 10. Uzbekistan’s size advantage was outclassed with the Philippines skill and speed. Not long after, the Volcanoes backed this performance up, comfortably defeating Pakistan 38 points to 0 in their second match. In their third match of the day, the Philippines faced Top seeds in Pool B India and held onto win 17 to 10, a stellar performance after Day 1 where the Philippines remained the only unbeaten team on the first day. 

​Early on day two the Philippines handed Nepal a 43 points to nil victory, securing their position on the top of Pool B with four wins from four matches. The Volcanoes progressed to the Top 4 and faced Guam in the Semi Final, where the Philippines held onto win 10 to 7 to book their place in the Gold Medal match against Malaysia. 

The Malaysians suffered an earlier defeat over Guam on day one, however defeated Uzbekistan in Semi Final (2) to also secure their position in the Gold Medal match. The competition all weekend remained as a tightly contested tournament. The Lady Volcanoes were confident with going unbeaten the whole tournament, boasting the only undefeated team as they approached the Gold Medal match. 

The Philippines played exciting Rugby 7s all weekend, featuring key performances from several players in the national team according to Jake Letts of Philippine Rugby “It was great to see the team perform. Aiumi Ono was outstanding, Rassiel Sales showed pure speed, Sylvia Tudoc with fantastic Rugby awareness and Nicole Kovanen with brute strength and go forward. The whole team as a group played attacking Rugby, it was great to watch”

The Gold Medal match remained tightly contested ---the Malaysians scoring first, making it 5 points to nil. The Volcanoes returned with a converted try to take the lead 7 to 5. However it was the Malaysians who broke away scoring making it 10 to 7 late in the second half; the Philippines running out of time and finishing with the silver medal. 

“It was a fantastic weekend for women’s rugby in Asia to see 10 teams represented in this tournament - the most we’ve ever had competing for the trophy. The level of competition was very competitive especially from Guam, Uzbekistan and Malaysia. We went undefeated the entire tournament until the final match against Malaysia and although we wish the final result was different, I couldn’t be more proud of how the team performed overall. Not only is it the best result the team has ever had in a single tournament, the entire team was composed of Philippine homegrown players. The program is on track for a competitive rematch against Malaysia in the Southeast Asian Games next year,” shared Ada Milby, Head Coach for the Philippine team. 

“The Ladies looked strong, well-conditioned and well prepared for the final match, however once bounce of the ball the wrong way in 7s rugby can cost you. Unfortunately for us Malaysia took their opportunities and maximized points when they were on offer, credit to both teams, a great match to watch, very proud of our girls efforts the entire weekend,” shared Chris Everingham, Performance and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Volcanoes.

​Women’s Rugby in the Philippines continues to go from strength to strength; the U18 National Team will travel to India on Wednesday to compete in the U18s Asia Sevens Championships next weekend in Bhubaneswar.

​The national women’s rugby team, proudly sponsored by First Pacific and the MVP Sports Foundation are hoping to repeat success for Philippine Rugby as they compete for the 2018 Asia Trophy Series in Brunei this weekend. 

The Lady Volcanoes will face India, Pakistan, Nepal and Uzbekistan in Pool B. Other nations in the Trophy Series include Malaysia, Laos, Brunei and Guam. 

The women’s program has had an internal boost for 2018, following their second place finish in June for the Asia Rugby Championships (ARC) according to their General Manager Jake Letts.

​“Women’s Rugby in the Philippines has made some positive strides in the last 12 months, we recently competed in the ARC in June, a first time since 2012 and our National Youth Team competed in the Youth Olympic Qualifiers late last year, two tournaments that usually were not in our international calendar however thanks to the PRFU, our sponsors and the Philippine Sports Commission, we are able to raise funding and compete in more tournaments each year and develop the program” shared Letts.

The Lady Volcanoes have recently been linked to MVP Sports Foundation, a partnership with the aim to medal at next year’s Southeast Asian Games. “We have working closely with MVPSF and First Pacific since 2014, most evidently in our National Youth Programs. For 2018 however we strategised together to see what other programs would benefit their support, our National Women’s Program is one that offers huge potential considering their success over the last few years” Letts added. 

The Philippines will be using the Trophy Series as a preparation tournament for the SEA Games next year. Rassiel Sales and Sylvia Tudoc of the Santos Knight Frank Mavericks both selected after impressive performances in the local domestic competitions. Alongside these two include Dixie Yu and Madille Salinas from Cebu, and experienced leaders Acee San Juan from Eagles RFC and Aiumi Ono of the Makati Chiefs all aiming to put their best foot forward for the country.  

A strong base of locally developed players and local domestic competitions presented an opportunity for the Philippines to be well prepared for the upcoming tournament. The Lady Volcanoes have been preparing for months, under the guidance of new Head Coach Ada Milby, Performance Manager and Strength & Conditioning Coach Chris Everingham, and team leader Kaye Honoras. 

​The competition will be held at Seria, Brunei, at the Panaga Club. The Philippines face Uzbekistan, Pakistan and India on day 1 of the tournament. The finals to be played on day 2.

After an intense seven weeks of competition, the Philippine Volcanoes powered by Globe Telecom, have achieved what only they knew was possible -- qualification into the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens, the premier tournament on the World Sevens Series competition.

The Volcanoes found themselves in the final stage of the three-leg 2018 Asia Sevens Series in Sri Lanka this weekend, needing no less than a Bronze medal finish to clinch over-all third place in the series behind powerhouses Japan and Hong Kong.

The first day saw the Volcanoes up against Asian Games bronze medalists, Korea where an in-form Philippine team came up with a convincing 34 to 5 victory. In the second match, the Volcanoes were up against arch rivals from Southeast Asia and current SEA Games gold medalists Malaysia, with the Volcanoes holding on to win 24 to 19. Despite the win, the Volcanoes didn’t come away unscathed, losing 4 players to injuries and a suspension to Vincent Amar Young for an accidental high ball collision.

On day two, three players were ruled unavailable, with Mark Mapacpac Roberts and Robert Luceno Fogerty out from an accidental head collision, while Young still needed to serve his two-game suspension from his Saturday infraction. This however did not stop the fire the Volcanoes had within, as they strung together three consistently good performances against the best Asia has to offer. The Volcanoes led the number one ranked team and over all champions, Japan 12 to 7 early into the second half, matching efforts for majority of the match until falling in the last play of the game which ended 21 to 12 in favor of the champions.

With a two from three standing, the Volcanoes progressed to the semi-finals where they faced second seeds, Hong Kong. In another valiant display, the Volcanoes showed true grit almost forcing one of the biggest upsets of the season with Hong Kong needing to score in the final seconds to secure their spot in the grand final. The 19 to 12 loss was heartbreaking for the Volcanoes but also showed them that they could pose a serious challenge to the best teams in Asia.

The final match of the day was written to script, the Philippines faced tournament hosts Sri Lanka Tuskers for spot in the Top 3. Both teams were on equal points on the ladder and both had an even head-to-head record over the course of the series. The Tuskers defeated the Volcanoes in round 1 in Hong Kong, the Volcanoes got their retribution in round 2 in Korea two weeks later and they now faced each other for the third and final time to decide who takes the last ticket to the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens and a chance to qualify for the World Series. The Volcanoes saved their best performance to last, securing a 19 to 7 victory over the home town heroes.

“It’s an amazing feeling! We knew we had the team to do it but to play with only 8 fit players against the top teams in Asia and to perform the way we did -- I’m over the moon and so proud of the boys” shared Volcanoes Captain, Christopher Arpon Bird.

The Volcanoes finish 2018 in third place in Asia, and currently sit in first place amongst their southeast Asian neighbors, an achievement nothing short of remarkable according to their General Manager, Jake Letts.

“It’s a special feeling for the team, they deserve it. The coaching staff and players have worked so hard for a very long period of time. It has taken years to get back to this point. The way they performed – I have only the upmost respect for what they achieved and can continue to achieve. Credit goes to all involved, past and present, sponsors, our staff and Executive Board and the entire Philippine Rugby community,” Letts added.

It has taken the Volcanoes six years to return to the world’s elite, last qualifying for the Hong Kong 7s in 2012 and reaching the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow, Russia, a year later. Since then, the Volcanoes have tirelessly battled it out amongst Asia’s best for the chance to once again compete with the world’s best teams.

The result will be etched into the history books, marking a special occasion for Philippine Rugby who has their sites on growth and development in the years to come.