Category: Development

Get Into Rugby Festival/CBRE Juniors Tournament for the Month of September

9/17/2014

After a three-month break, the Get Into Rugby Festival/CBRE Juniors Tournament is back! Twenty-five teams in four different age groups played Touch and Tackle games last Saturday, September 13, at Nomad Sports Club, Parañaque City. This was also the first round of the Youth Club 10s tournament which saw the entries of two u14 teams and four u16 teams. Good job to the Eagles Jr u16 tackle team (supported by HMR Philippines) which played their first ever tackle game!

The Makati Mavericks claimed the top spot in the u10 touch division with 2 wins and no losses. They scored a total of 6 points and no points scored against them. They also won the top spot in the u12 touch. Quest SOS Children's Village came in at second in that division.

In the u14 touch division, Clark Jets from Pampanga got the top spot with 2 wins and a draw with a F-A of +5. Mavericks came in close at second also with 2 wins and a draw but with a F-A of +3. It was the new team Haven for Children boys from Alabang who placed 3rd with a win and 2 draws. Great work Haven boys for placing 3rd in their first ever tournament!

The u16 touch division saw another Mavericks-Clark Jets showdown. Both teams finished the games with 3 wins and no losses. The difference in the F-A points gave the Mavericks +10 to get the top spot while the Jets came in at second with +5 F-A points.

The first match for the juniors tackle games was between Mavericks u14 and Clark Jets u14. The Jets dominated the first half but the Mavericks, led by Jason Schirmer, slowly got themselves back in the match in the second half. A last minute try from Schirmer got the Mavericks closer to Clark with 27-28 but conversion was unsuccessful and time expired. Jason Schirmer was later awarded the man of the match.

The first match in the u16 tackle division was between Mavericks and Clark Jets. Mavericks won 22 - 12 and the player of the match award was given to Clark Jets' Steve Rauras.

The last match of the day was between Quest SOS Children's Village u16 and Eagles Jr u16. It was the second time SOS played a full tackle game while it was a debut for the Eagles boys. SOS used their quick backs line to score tries out wide while the Eagles used the strength of their forwards pack to drive through their opponents' defensive wall. Final score was SOS 22 - 5 Eagles Jr. SOS' Ronald Longgasa was later awarded player of the match.

Each MVP per age group in the touch division was awarded Patrick cleats from HMR Philippines. All three players of the match in the juniors tackle games were also awarded Patrick cleats. Thank you HMR Philippines and Loro Sports for these prizes.

TEAMS:

u10 Touch
Mavericks
Eagles Jr
British School Manila (BSM)

u12 Touch
Eagles Jr
Mavericks
BSM
Quest SOS Children's Village
Clark Jets

u14 Touch
Clark Jets
Quest SOS Children's Village
Haven for Children
Mavericks
Leighton Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation
Eagles Jr

u16 Touch
Clark Jets
Leighton Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation
Eagles Jr
Don Bosco Canlubang
Mavericks

u14 Tackle
Clark Jets
Mavericks

u16 Tackle
Eagles Jr
Mavericks
Clark Jets
Quest SOS Children's Village

Full match videos!

Tournament Report: PRFU Women's 15s Invitational

6/17/2014

The inaugural PRFU Women’s 15s Invitational was held last Saturday, June 14, at Southern Plains field, Silangan. The tournament comprised of two local teams, Manila Mayhem and Cebu Lady Dragons, and a visiting team, Bedok Kings Skyllas from Singapore.

The first game between Cebu and Singapore set the intensity for the day as both teams came out looking for that first win. The Skyllas showed their strength straight from the kick off with a quick try scored by fly half, Zheng Yiting. Cebu struggled to move the ball forward without a committed scrum half position to guide the plays and the Skyllas' quick line defense. Continuity of possession proved the Skyllas' balanced and structured game plan with resulting tries from Lee Yi Tian (2), Loh Jun Wei Agnes (1), an additional try from Zheng and a hat trick of tries from Chloe Besanger (3). Despite the mismatch of teams between the well-seasoned Skyllas and the many rookies of the Lady Dragons, Cebu showed plenty of heart and played with conviction the entirety of the match. Final score 40-0.

The second match between the Skyllas and Manila Mayhem started off in favor of Mayhem with a knock on from Skyllas in the kick receive. Mayhem used this advantage to push towards their try line, but the Skyllas' defensive line proved difficult for the girls to break and eventually resulted in a turnover. This resulted to the first try scored by Zheng Yiting from a strong series of forwards' drives near their try line. Mayhem continued to find a footing but the strength of Skyllas in the restarts proved too much for them. Missed tackles and defensive gaps were the downfall for Mayhem, as additional tries were scored by Koh Mei Giet (1), Angelina Liu Huiyun (1), Marlina Binte Mohd Kasbi (1), and another one from Zheng (1). Final score 27-0.

Always the favorite rivalry, the final game between Cebu and Manila proved to be the closest match of the day. Both teams were a little battered and bruised. Each team looked to secure a win for the day. The match opened with a quick Lady Dragons try from a breakaway run from seasoned veteran Madille Salinas. Salinas was tackled just inches from the line but supporting player Dixie Yu picked up the ball from the ruck and dove for the try. The battle raged on in the first half as Mayhem had a series of forwards phases resulting in a try by Noreen Novero. Only separated in points by a conversion kick entering the second half, Mayhem and Lady Dragons all fought strongly. The number of penalties from Lady Dragons due to so many rookie players eventually turned the tides for Mayhem as they were able to capitalize on field advantage. These resulted in tries from Cha Bolando (1), Rose dela Cruz (1), Rara Sales (1), Michelle Mateo (1), and captain Acee San Juan (1). Final score 32-5.

In all, the tournament was a success for women’s development in the Philippines. The support from Philippine Sports Commission and PRFU allowed the women to compete and improve by playing against an international team, a necessity moving forward for the national training squad moving into the sevens series in the second half of this year.

PRFU hosts inaugural Women’s 15s Rugby Invitational Tournament

6/10/2014

With the completion of the Philippine Volcanoes’ Asian 5 Nations series, rugby fans and enthusiasts are asking, “What’s next?”

Local women’s Rugby will take center stage this month with the inaugural PRFU Women’s 15s Invitational Tournament on Saturday, June 14 at Southern Plains field in Silangan, Laguna.

Two local teams, the Manila Mayhem Women’s Rugby and the Cebu Lady Dragons Rugby Club, along with the visiting Bedok Kings Skyllas Women’s Rugby from Singapore will compete for victory, bragging rights, and a trophy in this exciting one day tournament. Like the men’s game, there are 15 players per side and three, 40 minutes games will be played throughout the afternoon.

The games start at 1pm. Admission is free of charge.

“It’s the first time since 2012 that local women’s 15s Rugby teams will get to test their skills against an international team” said Ada Milby, PRFU’s Head of Development and current captain of the Lady Volcanoes. “It should be a great day of Rugby as the local players have improved by much since the Philippine Rugby Football Union introduced a women’s Rugby program in 2010” she added.

This tournament also marks the first in the series of five tournaments for local players. The series, organized in partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission, is a grassroots development program aimed at identifying emerging new talents and providing additional training for the Lady Volcanoes 7s squad, which will take part in tournaments in Hong Kong and China later this year.

Philippine National Games 2014 Rugby 7s

5/19/2014

The PRFU was delighted once again to be invited to this year's Philippine National Games (PNG) by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee. The games were held last May 17 at Nomad Sports Club in Merville Subdivision, Parañaque City.

This year's PNG 7s saw an increase in number of registered teams. From last year's 12 men's teams and 4 women's teams, this year saw 15 men's teams and 4 women's teams. Now on it's third year, this PNG 7s was made more special with the debuts of three regional teams - the Davao Durians, the Cagayan de Oro Rugby Club, and the Cebu Lady Dragons.

Rugby 7s is an exciting sport and promotes action, speed, agility and teamwork. It is a perfect sport for any young Filipino athletes who enjoy the challenge of playing a dynamic contact sport. The PRFU restricted participation to the PNG Rugby 7s tournament to Filipino Heritage players only. It was exciting to see over 200 Filipino athletes take the field to compete to become the top Rugby 7s teams in the country.

CUP DIVISION: Alabang Eagles - Cup Champion for 3 Straight Years

The mighty Alabang Eagles team captured the Cup division title for the third consecutive year with a 45-0 win against the CBRE Maverick Vipers A. Composed by Volcanoes and National Development Team players, the Eagles proved once again why they are the best sevens team in the country. They scored a whopping total of 126 points for the whole tournament with no points scored against them. Rupert Zappia set up most of his team’s tries and was later awarded the MVP medal. The CBRE Maverick Vipers A team fought hard in the finals game but was outran and out muscled by the more experienced Eagles team. The Maverick Vipers had to overcome a gutsy Cebu Dragons side in the semis to earn the right to face the Eagles. The Maverick Vipers team won by a successful conversion kick (14-12) to gain a spot in the finals.

WOMEN’S DIVISION: Xena Win Nail-biter Against Cebu Lady Dragons

The women’s division finals match was once again the most exciting game in the tournament. Manila-based Xena won by a slim margin (14-12) against VISMIN’s pride, the Cebu Lady Dragons. With both teams having a record of 2 wins and a draw after the pool rounds, it was the Cebu ladies which topped the ranking with 35 F-A points compared to Xena’s 27 F-A points. Awesome defense by both ends resulted to scoreless 2 minutes into the game. An opportunity opened up for Xena when an overlap of players on the blind side of a ruck 80 meters from the score line saw a 2 versus 1 situation. Winger Nikki Lira used her superb speed to outrun her defender and score in between the posts to score the game’s first try. It was skipper Ada Milby who ran the length of the field to score Xena’s second try when an advantage was given after a knock on play. Both tries were converted and half time score was 14-0 for Xena.

Cebu Lady Dragons were able to regroup on the break and came out on fire at the second half. Skipper Luisa Jordan led the charge with a huge tackle and counter ruck right after their kick off. The Lady Dragons stole the ball and caught Xena unprepared for defense. Ching Alerta found a gap and scored the Lady Dragons’ first try of the match which was successfully converted. With a few minutes remaining in the match, Jordan made a break on the wing 60 meters from the try line and was able to offload the ball to a supporting Dixie Yu. Yu outran her defenders and scored her team’s second try. Try wasn't converted and score remained at 14-12. Few seconds remained in the match and Xena only needed to maintain possession of the ball while the Lady Dragons needed to steal the ball. A penalty for a high tackle from a Cebu player gave the chance to Xena to kick out the ball and secure their win. Hats off to both teams for a very exciting and intense finals match for PNG 7s. Lira was awarded the MVP of the tournament for scoring the most points for her team and for her courageous defense. Watch these teams play again against each other in the PRFU Women’s 15s Invitational tournament next month.

PLATE DIVISION: Alabang Ibons Win Plate Trophy Over QCPU Questors B

Alabang Ibons won the Plate championship against the QCPU Questors B team with a score of 15-7. The Ibons team, composed mostly of former university basketball players, used their size to their advantage against the speedy QCPU boys. Most of these players only started playing the sport mid last year and has already shown a lot of potential because of their natural athletic abilities. The QCPU boys played well and managed to sneak in a try and conversion but time was not enough for them to make a comeback. Ibons’ Kenneth Balasote was awarded the Plate MVP.

BOWL DIVISION: QCPU Questors A Beat UMAK Herons A to Win Bowl

University rivals QCPU Questors A and UMAK Herons A faced off again in a finals match for this year’s PNG 7s. Last year, the QCPU boys beat the UMAK boys in a tightly-contested Plate finals match to secure their gold medal finish. This year, QCPU gave the same results and won 15-0 to secure another gold medal finish. Because of his speed and strength combination and overall team leadership, QCPU captain Mark Jerald Esteban was awarded the MVP of the Bowl division.

SHIELD DIVISION: CDO Rugby Club Win Shield on their PNG 7s Debut

Newly formed Cagayan de Oro Rugby Club proved they are a team to watch out for in the future when they won the Shield finals match (27-5) against the UMAK Herons B. Playing only for a few months, the Rafters impressed the spectators with their impressive tackling technique and strength in contact. Noel Villa, founder and playing coach for the Rafters, led the team’s attack. Luis Banaag showed everyone that there’s no backing out in a game of Rugby when he continued to play the remaining games after he got hit hard from a previous game. For his courageous effort, he was awarded the Shield MVP medal.

The PNG allowed the PRFU to showcase the growing sport of Rugby 7s and the Filipino athletes were extremely proud to compete to win National PSC medals. Rugby 7s is now played at the SEA, Asian and Olympic Games, and the PSC are looking to build further Rugby 7s programs to claim medals at these events.

The PRFU would like to thank the Philippine Sports Commission for inviting Rugby 7s to be a sport once again at the 2014 Philippine National Games and Nomad Sports Club for once again hosting the tournament.

Official PNG results that are registered with the Philippine Sports Commission for 2014:

GOLD MEDAL

CUP DIVISION

Alabang Eagles

WOMEN'S DIVISION

Xena

PLATE DIVISION

Alabang Ibons

BOWL DIVISION

QCPU Questor A

SHIELD DIVISION

CDO Rugby Club

SILVER MEDAL

CUP DIVISION

CBRE Maverick Vipers A

WOMEN'S DIVISION

Cebu Lady Dragons

PLATE DIVISION

QCPU Questors B

BOWL DIVISION

UMAK Herons A

SHIELD DIVISION

UMAK Herons B

BRONZE MEDAL

CUP DIVISION

Clark Rugby Club

WOMEN'S DIVISION

UMAK Lady Herons

PLATE DIVISION

Immortals

BOWL DIVISION

MAAP Warriors B

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Men's Cup Division: Rupert Zappia
Ladies Division: Nikki Lira
Men's Plate Division: Kenneth Balasote
Men's Bowl Division: Mark Jerald Estebam
Men's Shield Division: Luis Banaag

FINAL RANKINGS

Cup Division
Alabang Eagles
CBRE Maverick Vipers A
Clark Rugby Club
Cebu Dragons

Women's Division
Xena
Cebu Lady Dragons
UMAK Lady Herons
QCPU Lady Questors

Plate Division
Alabang Ibons
QCPU Questors B
Immortals
Davao Durians

Bowl Division
QCPU Questors A
UMAK Herons A
MAAP Warriors B
CBRE Maverick Vipers B

Shield Division
CDO Rugby Club
UMAK Herons B
MAAP Warriors A

Photo gallery (All photos on this page by Mark Cristino)

Get Into Rugby Festival/CBRE Juniors Tournament for the Month of May

5/14/2014

May’s Get Into Rugby(GIR) Festival Juniors Tournament sponsored by CBRE for 2014 was held on May 3rd at the Southern Plains Eagles Nest Clubhouse. Running as a morning festival in preparation for the afternoon game between Japan and the Philippine Volcanoes for the A5N series, there was an impressive turnout for the day including the newly formed Marikina Juniors and Alabang Eagles Juniors teams.

The u10 games between BSM and Eagles Juniors started the day off with a big win for the new team playing in their first tournament. Winning two games and one draw, the Eagles Juniors are off to a promising start. The U12 division proved to be more difficult for the Eagles as they played against the very established teams like CRC and SOS. Their knowledge and game experience clearly made a difference in their games. Hapons came out looking to set the precedence like their senior side would play in the afternoon and played with fervor and discipline. They won two of their 3 games, with just a marginal loss to CRC at 1-2. Mavericks had good day in this division as they pushed to play four games instead of the standard three. Quest SOS, Leighton Tuloy, and CRC continue to be powerhouses in this division either winning or drawing all their games.

The u14 division included the debut of the Marikina Juniors. They didn’t win their games, but they learned a lot from these first games and are excited about returning for future tournaments. All teams played well but the game to watch in this division was between CBRE Mavericks and Leighton Tuloy. A tight game with both teams battling to come out on top. In the final moments, Tuloy scored the winning try for a final score of 4-3.

The lower final scores in the u16 division, show that defensive skills are developing in this age group. The mainstay teams like Leighton Tuloy, CRC and Quest SOS continue to lead the packs, but up and coming teams like G4S Childhope and HMR Southridge and Don Bosco teams are putting up good fights and the scores continue to narrow.

The tournament was followed by the Asian 5 Nations game between the Philippine Volcanoes and 13th ranked team in the world, Japan. Players from the juniors teams joined the Volcanoes and the Hapons joined Japan on the field for the playing of national anthems to round out this full day of rugby. Thank you to Alabang Eagles, CBRE and all our sponsors for a successful tournament. The next GIR Festival Juniors Tournament sponsored by CBRE is scheduled for August 30.