The top men's and women's teams will be back in action on Saturday, 25th of June, at the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub in Cavite for the third and final leg of the 2022 PRFU Luzon Rugby Cup Premiership Division. The Premiership Division, which gathers Luzon's best players, will prove to be an exciting finale for the return of the domestic competitions season, which was delayed for more than 2 years due to the pandemic. This division will also see some of the local-based Philippine Volcanoes, Rising Stars, and National Development Team players in action. 

In the Men's Premiership Division, it is a wide open race among the 4 teams for the overall Premiership title. The SKF Makati Mavericks won leg 1 behind the leadership of veteran captain, Jerry "Slug" Branzuela. The Ramirez brothers tandem, Lito and JR, will once again be manning the Mighty Mavericks' backs line, while loose forward, Dylan Davies, will be leading on the defensive front. 

The Eagles RFC is eager to ride on the momentum from their top finish in leg 2, to win leg 3 and finally secure the overall Premiership title. Philippine Volcano veteran, Tim Bweheni, will again be a steady presence on the field while Joe Palabay Dawson's quick play making and work off the ball will create attacking opportunities for the team. Philippine Rugby's Flying Jeepney, Justin Villazor Coveney, will be back in action for the Eagles RFC after missing leg 2.

With 2 runner up finishes under their belts, the Clark Jets are raring to finish the mission and win the 3rd leg Premiership trophy. The tandem of Tui Tanielu and Koli Seiuli will again provide physicality for the team. Jets' triple J - Jonel Madrona, Joemari Rauras, and Jovan Masaunga, will also steer the speedy Jets backline to the try line.

Not far behind will be the Manila Nomads team led by Philippine Volcano, David Feeney.  The oldest rugby club in the country will be aiming to finish strong this season and capture the leg 3 trophy. Nomads Adam Baxter and Neil Pickford will be guiding this team composed of a mix of expatriates and local players.

The La Liga 1 men and SKF Makati Mavericks women finished with unblemished records last weekend at the 3rd and final leg of the 2022 PRFU Luzon Rugby Cup held in Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus, Cavite. Both teams swept their matches in the pool rounds and were dominant in their finals matches to secure the 3rd leg Championship Division trophies. In addition, both teams also swept all three legs of the Championship Division with 0 losses, making them the overall champions of the league. 

A 29 - 5 win against the Subic Jets started the day for the La Liga 1 team which was later on followed by a close 17 - 10 win against a tough Albay Bulkans team. These 2 wins in the pool rounds allowed them to set up a semi finals match against their clubmates, La Liga 2.

It was a repeat of the first leg finals with SKF Makati Mavericks reaching the finals as well. Three unanswered first half tries from the La Liga 1 team set the tone for the match and resulted to the Mavericks playing catch up most of the match. The Mavericks tried to answer back in the second half with 2 tries and a successful conversion of their own. However, these were not enough since the La Liga 1 already built a sizable lead to finish the match with a 32 to 12 win.

With La Liga 1's speed, agility, great teamwork, and vision, they established themselves as the best men's development team in the country this year by winning all the legs of the league. It was a momentous moment for one of the newest clubs in the country which was founded by former Philippine Volcano and homegrown player, Paulo Jordan, and coached by National Teams coach, Andy Brown.  Raiden Abello was named MVP of the Men's Championship Division.

The SKF Makati Mavericks capitalized on their speed and great vision to runaway as the overall champions of the Women's Championship Division of the 2022 PRFU Luzon Rugby Cup. The ladies in red and white scored a total of 81 points with only 5 points scored against them throughout the day. The Mavericks posted a 37 - 0 win against Manila Rogues and a 32 - 0 win against the Eagles RFC before facing great challenge against the Clark Jets. However, the ladies still came away with a 12 - 0 win against the ladies from the north. The Mavericks and the Jets faced each other again in the finals after finishing first and second in the round robin games. A 27 - 5 win for the Mavericks after 14 minutes of intense action secured the trophy for these ladies who mostly learned full contact rugby during the pandemic. First leg MVP, Riho Kasai, was named MVP of the Women's Championship Division again.

"Overall, the Championship Division was a success as it provided opportunities to showcase the talents and skills of our Philippine-heritage players. We were able to see how much these players have grown in skills over the years and also identified players to be added in the National Development Team pool.  It was exciting to see these young players and we look forward to seeing them maximize their potential in the future", shared Acee San Juan of Philippine Rugby.

​Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) and ChildFund Rugby reaffirmed their shared commitment to developing young leaders and creating a positive social impact in communities through rugby by officially launching the Club Champions project this week.

“For us, rugby is important in building solidarity across the country and in empowering young people, especially women and girls. We welcome this partnership with ChildFund Rugby, especially during these times when the country is starting to open up after lockdowns, with children and young people adjusting to the social and economic impacts of the pandemic,” said Acee San Juan, PRFU’s General Manager for Development, Competitions, and Training & Education.

As full members of both World Rugby and Asia Rugby, PRFU has been achieving excellence at the elite level of the sport and gaining public support for the game. Over the years, fans and supporters have seen the rise of their National Rugby Team, the Philippines Volcanoes. Some of their most recent successes include the clinching of both the Gold medal finish for the Men’s and the Silver medal finish for the Women’s in the 2019 South East Asian Games

The PRFU has also been known for breaking barriers in the often male-dominated sport, with the likes of PRFU President Ada Milby who became World Rugby Council’s first female member in 2017, and San Juan who recently stepped up as GM of PRFU – not a common feat among rugby unions across the globe. PRFU has also recently went beyond rugby touch lines by mobilising an all-women rugby crew to respond to those affected by Typhoon Rai at the end of 2021.
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“Rugby is more than just a game. I have seen what the game has done for young people. Rugby provides a platform where girls and young women have opportunities to achieve their dreams, challenge barriers, and step up to be leaders both on and off the field,” said San Juan.  ​

​PRFU began its partnership with ChildFund Rugby in 2016 to implement the Pass It Back program and has since supported thousands of young people – more than half female – to learn and develop essential life skills through rugby. 
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The new project will focus on delivering the Reconnect curriculum, an initiative developed to support children and young people to access sports and learning activities in safe and structured settings, with a focus on setting goals, reuniting with young people and teammates, and getting back to the pitch following the disruptions caused to communities from COVID-19. ChildFund Rugby and the PRFU will work closely with Clubs and Club Champions to implement the curriculum, develop young leaders for the Club rugby community, and support Clubs in further developing safe and inclusive practices for everyone. ​

Six men's teams and 4 women's teams are back in action this weekend for the third and final leg of the 2022 PRFU Luzon Rugby Cup Men's and Women's Championship divisions. These divisions, which feature the core of Philippine-heritage players, aim to help foster the development of these local talent and provide a pathway to play the country's most experienced players.

The La Liga 1 team of the Men's Championship Division is going into the final festival day brimming with confidence, having secured the first two legs of the season. However, expect fierce challenge from their rivals as each team aims to finish strong this Return to Play season, in preparation for the 7s season starting in August. The La Liga 2 team will aim to outwork their clubmates after meeting them in the finals in leg 2. The Bulkans from the Albay province set for an explosive finish after a narrow lost in the previous leg. Subic Jets will seek to maximize the potential of their speedy youngsters under the coaching and mentorship of their senior Jets counterparts. The Mavericks will fight for the top spot with a more complete team this time around. Lastly, the Manila Kalabaws look forward to improve on their previous legs after having more match exposure for the team composed of mostly new players.

It's the same scenario in the Women's Championship Division as the SKF Makati Mavericks girls have already secured back to back trophies in the first two legs. However, with more match exposures from the previous legs, the Clark Jets, Eagles RFC, and the Manila Rogues have improved steadily and will look to claim the trophy for the 3rd leg this weekend.  

Three u18s girls teams and 3 u11s boys teams will also have the opportunity to play touch rugby games against each other on Saturday, thanks to the support from PRFU program partners, ChildFund Rugby.

Eagles RFC, SKF Makati Mavericks, and Bulacan Bombers will enter u11s teams for the juniors festivals. In the girls u18s division, the Albay Bulkans, Bulacan Bombers, and SKF Makati Mavericks Baabaas have entered teams as well.

The matches on Saturday will be played at Ayala Vermosa Hub in Imus, Cavite. Only Covid-19 fully vaccinated individuals and those who have completed their Health Declaration forms will be allowed to enter the venue. Gates will open at 8:00 am for all local rugby supporters to join.  Entrance is free. 

The grassroots players of the island of Cebu shined in the recent 2022 PRFU Visayas Rugby Cup held on May 28, 2022 at the Cebu City Sports Complex. A total 0f 15 age group teams competed in the first officially organized festival by the Philippine Rugby Football Union in the Visayas region since March 2020. This was also the biggest so far, with teams from north and south of Cebu competing.

Overall, it was a great day of rugby in the Queen Island of the South. Kids, youth, and adults came out to play rugby in front of their families and friends. It was a great turnout for the #SaturdayIsRugbyDay in the island of Cebu. The next leg of the 2022 PRFU Visayas Rugby Cup is scheduled on June 25, 2022.