The Asian 5 Nations battle for third place ended with the Philippines falling to South Korea 22-52 in a match played in Southern Plains field in Laguna on Saturday 24 May. 

The favored Koreans were hot off the mark with two quick tries in the opening minutes of the game. The hosts held their own by responding with tries from Volcanoes captain, Oliver Saunders and full back Michael Letts. A successful conversion and penalty kick, also by the Philippines’ skipper saw the first half end with Korea leading the Philippines 28 – 15.

The visiting team started the second half much like the first, with two quick tries and successful conversions. The Volcanoes replied with a try from an interception by Matt Saunders, successfully converted by Alexander Aronson which brought the score to 22 – 47 in favor of Korea. Errors by the host team allowed Korea one more try in the last five minutes of the game resulting in a full time score of 22 – 52. 

“It was a tough game. Korea played very well and we made it hard for ourselves especially in the 2nd half with too many mistakes and not playing enough territory” said Captain Oliver Saunders after the match. “In saying that, we never gave up and played hard to the final whistle. Always proud of our team’s efforts.”

The result means that the Philippines finishes in its original rank of fourth in the Asian 5 Nations series and will join fifth place Sri Lanka as the top seeds in Division 1 next year, with Kazakhstan and Singapore. The new grouping is a result of the competition’s restructuring the Elite Division from Asia’s top five teams, to just three.

Of the series, Saunders further shares, “It’s been a hard 6 weeks for our squad. Each week we have improved our performance and that's something important that we always focus on doing. We saw a lot of new faces in the team this season, and that showed early on in the campaign, but they all gelled into our squad quickly.”

In closing, Saunders shared his thoughts on what’s next for the Volcanoes. “After maintaining our number four ranking in Asian 15s, hopefully we can do well in the Sevens arena too.” Rugby Sevens is the faster version of the game which will be played in the Asian Games in September. 

The Philippine Rugby Football Union is proud to announce the players that have been selected for the Philippines' Asian 5 Nations match against South Korea on Saturday, May 24.

Head coach: Stuart Woodhouse
Asst. coach: Nathan Holman
Manager: Matthew Cullen
Physiotherapist: Dean Mottee

The match will be played at 3:30pm on Saturday, May 24 at the Southern Plains Field, Calamba Laguna (Silangan Exit). Admission is free.

The winner of the match will earn a third place finish in the A5N Premier Division. Due to the restructuring of the competition in 2015 reducing the top tier teams from five to only three, the losing team will join Sri Lanka in Division 1 next year.

The Asian 5 Nations is the premier Rugby Union competition in Asia held among the top five national Rugby sides in the region: Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong,  Philippines and Sri Lanka.

For more information on the A5N visit: www.asian5nations.com

The Philippine Volcanoes snatched a win from Sri Lanka’s clutches at the last second of play at the Asian 5 Nations tournament in Colombo.

The host country scored first with a penalty kick early in the first half which was answered by the Volcanoes with a try from perennial scorer, Matt Saunders. The rest of the first half was a seesaw battle which ended with the Philippines leading 19 – 17, with the Volcanoes’ tries coming from David Feeney, Steve Howorth and two conversions by Captain Oliver Saunders.

A try from an unlucky bounce and a converted penalty kick gave Sri Lanka the lead in the second half with the Volcanoes failing to capitalize on one of the Tuskers getting sent off the field with a yellow card. With the score at 25 – 19 in favor of Sri Lanka in the 86th minute (overtime due to time lost for injuries) Volcanoes scrum-half Jake Letts drove the ball over the Tuskers forward pack for a try, bringing the score to 25 – 24. Fly half Alex Aronson was tasked to convert the try for an additional 2 points. Aronson’s kick was unsuccessful, however the referee declared that the Tuskers charged towards the Philippine kicker too early and ordered a re-kick. Aronson’s second attempt from 23 meters was successful, giving the Philippines a 26-25 victory over Sri Lanka.

"It was a brutal encounter and a great win away from home in front of a vocal home ground" said Head Coach Stu Woodhouse after the match.  "It was Sri Lanka's last game and we showed some good character to overcome the odds late in the game to come away with our first win." 

The Volcanoes’ most-capped player Jake Letts had this to say about his heroic try “It just happened so quickly. I saw a little gap and was able to dart through. The next thing I remember, I was forcing myself to score the try. I was worried that I would lose the ball. Luckily, I didn’t.”

“For the second kick I just thought that this was the moment that you dream of when you play sports” shared Alex Aronson, “I tried to calm myself down, go through my routine and just kick it. I’m just glad it was successful. I don’t know what I would have done if I let my teammates down; they all played so hard.”

“Our boys showed a lot of resilience. I’m very proud of our team for never giving up. The culture & brotherhood that the Volcanoes have is something special to be a part of. It’s great to finally give our supporters a win.” said Captain Oliver Saunders. 

The victory gives the Philippines its first win in the A5N series, ensuring that the Volcanoes don’t finish at the bottom of the Elite Division in 2014.
 
The Volcanoes face South Korea on home soil in their final game of the series on Saturday, May 24 at Southern Plains Field in Laguna.

The Philippine Rugby Football Union is proud to announce the players that have been selected for the Philippines' Asian 5 Nations match against Sri Lanka.

Head coach: Stuart Woodhouse
Asst. coach & Manager: Matthew Cullen
Physiotherapists: Dean Mottee, Rico Barin

The match will be played at 6:30pm on Saturday, May 17 at the Race Course Rugby Grounds, Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Asian 5 Nations is the premier Rugby Union competition in Asia held among the top five national Rugby sides in the region. The Philippines will face Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Sri Lanka in a round-robin competition throughout April and May 2014.

April 26
Philippines v Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

May 3
Philippines v Japan (Southern Plains, Laguna)

May 17
Philippines v Sri Lanka (Colombo)

May 24
Philippines v South Korea (Southern Plains, Laguna)

The Philippine Rugby Football Union is proud to announce the players that have been selected for the Philippines' Asian 5 Nations match against Japan.

The match will be played at 3:30pm on Saturday, May 3 at the Southern Plains Field in Laguna. 

The Asian 5 Nations is the premier Rugby Union competition in Asia held among the top five national Rugby sides in the region. The Philippines will face Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Sri Lanka in a round-robin competition throughout April and May 2014.

April 26
Philippines v Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

May 3
Philippines v Japan (Southern Plains, Laguna)

May 17
Philippines v Sri Lanka (Colombo)

May 24
Philippines v South Korea (Southern Plains, Laguna)

(click to enlarge)