The Philippine Rugby Football Union is proud to announce the Men's 15s squad for the upcoming Asian 5 Nations Premier Division Tournament.

Jarred Hodges (Head Coach)
Jarred has been coaching the Philippine Volcanoes for the last three years and has been instrumental in getting us to the Premier Division.

Phil Gittus (Team Manager)
Phil has been involved with rugby since 1976, initially in the UK and since 1999 in the Philippines. Phil’s passion and years of experience in the sport in both countries have been pivotal in the team’s progress since inception.
 
Matt Cullen (Tournament Manager)
Matt Cullen is our tournament manager for the A5N. Matt brings with him years of experience in the sport, and has been the driving force in promoting and developing rugby union in the Philippines.
 
Stuart Woodhouse (Assistant backs coach)
More fondly called, “Stu”, Stu was a former Australian schoolboy &Waratahsrugby player who eventually became coach in 2005. In his 7 years of coaching, Stu handled winning premiership clubs in Queensland &New South Wales (NSW). Stu was also the backs coach of Eastwood—during the said period, he was able to elevate the team to minor premiers in 2011 &Shute Shield winners in 2012.
 
Damian Raper (Team Physiotherapist)
Damo has been the team’s physiotherapist since 2009. He is a Post Graduate Scholar for Physical Therapies at the Australian Institute of Sport. Prior to his role with the Volcanoes, Damian was team physiotherapist to some of Australia’s best rugby squads such as the NSW Schoolboys.
 
Joe Matthews (Strength & Conditioning Coach)
“Joey” has been a 7’s & 15’s player for many years.  Since 2005, Joey has been lecturing at the Australian Institute of Fitness and is currently the principal of “ACT Barbell”, an organization specializing in strength and conditioning for high performance athletes in Australia.

The Asian 5 Nations Tournament

The Asian 5 Nations is an annual international Rugby Union competition held between the top five Asian national rugby sides. The Philippines will face Japan, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and South Korea in a round-robin competition over five consecutive weekends throughout April and May 2013.

The Volcanoes will play two away games and two home games at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

The Asian 5 Nations represents the highest tier of international rugby in Asia and in 2014, is Asia's qualifying tournament for the Rugby World Cup 2015.

This year, we welcome the opportunity for the Philippine Rugby Football Union to leap to new heights in the country's Rugby history. We enter 2013 with two milestones for the team in the first 6 months of the year. 

• This April/May our Men's 15s team will be competing against Asia's best in the Premier Division of the Asian 5 Nations tournament
• This June, our Men's 7s team will be competing in Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow, Russia

To fully prepare the team for this remarkable journey, we are pleased to announce that for the A5N, we have appointed Jarred Hodges as Head Coach. Jarred has been coaching the Philippine Volcanoes for the last three years and has been instrumental in getting us into the Premier Division. Moreover, we have appointed Phil Gittus as our A5N Team Manager. Phil's passion for the sport and years of Rugby experience in both the UK and the Philippines has been pivotal in the team's progress since its inception.

Alongside these two men, the Board is pleased to announce the full A5N Organizing Committee and Philippine National Team Committee for 2013. 

Secondly, the Board is pleased to announce the selection of Al Caravelli as the Head Coach for the Rugby World Cup Sevens. Further details on the Team Manager, Organizing Committee and NTC are to follow.

Please join me in congratulating the aforementioned managers, coaches and committee members. We look forward to working with you.

All the best,


RICK SANTOS
President
PHILIPPINE RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION

The Philippine Rugby Football Union has announced the list of players selected to the team that will compete in the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division 1 Championships scheduled to begin on Sunday, April 15 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila.

Abraham, Phil
Bautista, JC
Bellenie, Matt
Carroll, Terry
Coveney, Justin
Dacanay, Austin
De Guzman, Michael
Duhig, Michael
Gomez, Cleo 
Hitch, Chris
Howorth, Steven
Letts, Jake
Letts, Michael
Matthews, Joseph
Matthews, Luke
Olivier, Patrice
Perez, Tyler
Perry, Nick
Price, James
Saunders, Matt
Saunders, Oliver
Taylor, Richard
Urquijo, Jaime
Ward, Jake
West, Brian

Coach: Expo Mejia
Coach: Jarred Hodges
Manager:  Matt Cullen
Physiotherapist:  Damian Raper
Manager:  Grant Rice

The Philippines is the most successful team in the Asian Five Nations next to Japan. The Volcanoes have lost only one match in the past four years, losing to South Korea in Division 1 last year.  Fielding a 100% Filipino heritage squad with all members having at least one parent or grandparent born in the Philippines, the Volcanoes are eager to claim victory on home soil. The winner of Division 1 will be promoted to the Asian 5 Nations Elite level in 2013 to compete with Asian Rugby powerhouses Japan, Hong Kong, UAE and Kazakhstan. 

Mr. Jarrad Gallagher, Regional General Manager for Asia of the IRB commented on the tournament’s development at every level saying, “Over the years we have seen the matches become more and more competitive, not only have several teams reduced the margins against Japan, but the gaps are closing at every level as a result of the intensity of the HSBC A5N. This can only be a boost for rugby in the region.”

Joining the Philippines in Division 1 are Sri Lanka, Singapore and Chinese Taipei. The teams will play each other in a new round-robin format with the objective of further preparing teams for promotion to the Top 5. To learn more about the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Series, go to www.asian5nations.com

Match Schedule (all matches played at Rizal Memorial Stadium)

Sunday, April 15 
5pm Sri Lanka vs. Chinese Taipei
7pm Singapore vs. Philippines

Wednesday, April 18
5pm Sri Lanka vs. Singapore
7pm Philippines vs. Chinese Taipei

Saturday, April 21
5pm Sri Lanka vs. Philippines
7pm Singapore vs. Chinese Taipei

Admission to the games on April 15 and 18 is free of charge, while tickets are required for April 21. Tickets for April 21 may be purchased at Ticketworld outlets and www.ticketworld.com.ph. The Philippines’ matches will be telecast live on ABS-CBN Studio 23. 

For information on ARFU & the HSBC A5N, contact Sean Moore at [email protected]
For information on the PRFU & the Philippine Volcanoes, contact Raquel Romero at [email protected]