Congratulations to the following players who have been selected to be part of the Junior Volcanoes team for the Asian Youth Games Rugby 7s Tournament. They will compete on August 17 to 19 in Nanjing, China. Players: Ayala, Miguel Francisco (British School Manila) Ballesteros, Kingsley (Clark Rugby Club) Candelaria, Naimar (Clark Rugby Club) Cayetano, Terry Boy (Clark Rugby Club) Feleo, Juliann Viktor (Mavericks/University of Santo Tomas) Holgate, Andrew William (British School Manila) Madrona, Jonel (Clark Rugby Club) co-captain Maleval, Greg George (Brent International School Manila) Narvasa, Racel (Bulacan Rugby Club/Colegio de Calumpit) Rano, Albert Vincent (British School Manila) Whyte, Joshua Louis (British School Manila) co-captain Management Staff: Head Coach: Juan Gideon Josua Engelbrecht Team Manager: Kaye Llanie Honoras Physiotherapist: Alyssa Paula Tomas The team is composed of Filipino heritage boys (ages 16 to 17) who will compete against other Asian nations such as China, Japan, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong. All these boys have been playing in the PRFU local leagues.
For more information on the 2nd Asian Youth Games 2013, visit: http://www.nanjing2013.org/en The inaugural Philippine Women’s Invitational Rugby Tournament was held last Saturday, August 3, at Southern Plains field Laguna. Three women’s teams played 7s and 10s matches, with the team with the most number of wins at the end of the day declared the overall champion. Manila Mayhem, Cebu Lady Dragons, and the National University of Singapore Rugby Team all came to the venue, prepared to prove they are the best women’s team in the tournament. The boys of Asian Youth Games under 17s national team also served as a guest team for the morning 7s matches, in preparation for their Nanjing, China 7s tournament in 2 weeks. SEVENS MATCHES Mayhem's Nikki Lira proved to be handful for the NUS defence Sevens matches kicked off at 11 am with a match between the Lady Dragons and the AYG. It was a tough battle as the faster boys used their outstanding speed to breakaway and score tries. The boys proved to be too fast for the ladies. Nevertheless, the girls played all out. Still, the game ended at 50-0 (W-AYG). Second match saw the battle between the visitors from SG and the host team of the tournament, Manila Mayhem. Mayhem used their improved defensive line, which resulted to turnovers from the visitors. This enabled Mayhem to control the possession majority of the match and using their quick passing, they were able to score tries due to overlaps and awesome speed on the wing. Game ended at 29-0 (W- Mayhem). Cebu's Medea Mercado tackles a bigger Mayhem player Third match was between the SG girls and the AYG boys. Again, the boys proved to be too fast for the girls as they outran everyone and scored try after try. Final score was 48-0 (W-AYG). Local rivals Manila Mayhem and Cebu Lady Dragons faced off in the fourth match. Mayhem dominated the first half, with a try from the wing and another one just before the half time break. The Lady Dragons regrouped at the break and gained momentum as their forwards broke through the defensive line several times. Back to back tries were awarded for the Lady Dragons as they showed a combination of speed and power plus great support play. Mayhem took advantage of a penalty against the opponent in the last few minutes of the match and scored a much needed try to put enough separation on the scores. Game ended at 19-12 (W-Mayhem). Cebu's Tonette Gambito scored a breakaway try against SG The Lady Dragons bounced back from that loss and won their succeeding match. They scored 5 tries, most of them from breakaways and wrap passes, against NUS’ 3 tries. Two of their tries were converted. Final score was 29-10 (W-Lady Dragons). The last match for the morning 7s games was between the undefeated teams AYG and Mayhem. It was a tight first half but injuries to Mayhem’s players proved vital as the boys took advantage of the substitute players’ inexperience and scored a series of unanswered tries that led to the final score, 33-0 (W-AYG). TENS MATCHES Mayhem's Aye Honoras fends off a SG player The first 10s match of the day was between Manila Mayhem and NUS. The SG girls got the momentum on the first half when one of Mayhem’s core players got injured and had to be replaced. They proved they have more experience in 10s as they took advantage of Mayhem’s disorganized defense and lack of a sweeper. They kicked the ball down field several times, allowing them to gain territory majority of the half. Mayhem was able to regroup and came back more organized with their structure in the second half. They found their rhythm and scored 3 unanswered tries, all from counter attacks from errors of SG. The match ended with a score of 15-0 (W-Mayhem). The second 10s match of the day was between NUS and the Lady Dragons. The Cebu girls were all over the place as they did not really have a chance to practice 10s as they focused on the 7s games. SG, on the other hand, had incredible teamwork and fast hands that led to 2 breakaways on the wing. The Lady Dragons were still able to score a try in the last few seconds of the game off a beautiful setup play to the wing. Match ended with a close score of 10-7 (W-NUS). Cebu captain Aiumi Ono led the Lady Dragons' attack The best match of the whole tournament was definitely the classic showdown between the north and south ladies. Both teams were pumped up to play and prove they are the best 10s team in the country. The Lady Dragons were seeking pay back. Mayhem wants validation. Newbies from both teams played like veterans while the veterans used their experience to inspire their newbies. The rain and shine weather did not stop both teams from playing all out. It was a defensive battle as both teams were defending ruck after ruck. Both forwards’ sides worked hard to gain yards. The first half ended with a precarious 5-0 lead for Mayhem from a winger’s try. Mayhem's Acee San Juan scores the match winning try The Lady Dragons answered back early in the second half with their own version of a winger’s try. It was a back and forth rat race to the try line as both teams has incredible defence. With seconds winding down, Mayhem patiently controlled possession through crash balls from their forwards. A gap on Cebu’s defensive line was quickly taken advantage by Mayhem. The match winning try for the Manila ladies was from a ruck less than 5 meters from the line. Final score was 10-5 (W-Mayhem). With that win, Manila Mayhem was awarded the overall champion of the first ever Philippine Women’s Invitational Rugby Tournament. It was a great day of women’s rugby and a huge boost to women’s rugby development here in the country. Most of these girls are vying for spots in the Lady Volcanoes 7s and 15s teams. Thank you to all the teams who participated and congratulations to Manila Mayhem for being the overall the champion of the tournament. Final scores: 7s Matches AYG (50) vs Cebu Lady Dragons (0) Manila Mayhem (29) vs NUS (0) NUS (0) vs AYG (48) Cebu Lady Dragons (12) vs Manila Mayhem (19) NUS (10) vs Cebu Lady Dragons (29) Manila Mayhem (0) vs AYG (33) 10s Matches Manila Mayhem (15) vs NUS (0) NUS (10) vs Cebu Lady Dragons (7) Cebu Lady Dragons (5) vs Manila Mayhem (10) All photos on this page by Chris Hettel
The Philippine Development Team turned the tables on Hong Kong from Wednesday's narrow lost, to win the 2013 International Development series. Led by Captain Aaron Briddon, the "Tamaraws" entered the game knowing they had to win by at least a 7 point margin to claim the series trophy. This was at the back of the players' minds but first and foremost, was the passion to actually become the first PRFU National Team to ever record a win against Hong Kong. After the 36 - 30 defeat on Wednesday, the Tamaraws knew they were in with a chance to make history. The team came together early at Southern Plains to prepare for a championship game. The Tamaraws consist of local Filipino players and expats who have lived in the Philippines for at least three years. A squad of 40 players from all the PRFU clubs including the Cebu Dragons, combined to make this year's development team. As the game began, it was PRFU stalwart Evans "Skins" Atandi, who led the way in the first quarter as he systematically charged onto the ball and broke the advantage line with every run to take the Tamaraws on the front foot. The front row of Glen Denton, Masa Sekiguchi, and Phil Sinclair showed they were up for the battle as they demolished the Hong Kong scrum to set up the Tamaraws' first try of the game. After winning a scrum against the feed and several pick and drives attempts, the ball went wide to Rupert Zappia who hit the line from fullback. He drew two defenders to unleash a SBW flick pass to his fellow Eagles player, Paulo Jordan, to score untouched in the corner. Hong Kong then stepped up the game tempo and this only ignited the Tamaraws' backrow of Tim Kong, Dave Feeney, and Jay Coronel into action. They continually thumped the Hong Kong attackers, forcing turnovers to give the Tamaraws a narrow halftime lead of 5 - 3. It wasn't until midway though the second half that the Tamaraws were able to penetrate the Hong Kong defense. A deft kick from Tim Bweheni set up Sam Fogg for the Tamaraws' second try to take a 10 - 3 lead into the last twenty minutes of the game. Coach Matt Cullen then gave the order to pin the Hong Kong team deep in their own territory and force them to score from their own quarter. The Tamaraws did this to perfection and used the wind and field angle to their advantage, continually pinning Hong Kong in their own quarter. Eventually, this led to frustrations by Hong Kong as they desperately tried to attack from their own territory and they gave up two penalties that were both converted by Zappia. The Tamaraws could sniff victory and Dean Gonzales from the Alabang Eagles, who had worked tirelessly in the second row, came up with several front on tackles to stifle any attacking raids that Hong Kong tried to amount. The final whistle blew and the Tamaraws had turned the table and not only beat Hong Kong, but won by a 10 point margin 16 - 3. They claimed the 2013 International Development Series on aggregate by 7 points over the two games. This was the first win for the Tamaraws in the last two years and the local crowd witnessed a competitive series that resulted in a first for the PRFU. The Tamaraws became the first ever National team to beat Hong Kong in an International Competition. The Philippine player of the series was awarded to Dean (Dino) Gonzales for his committed efforts throughout both games. The PRFU are now planning to take the 2013 Philippine Development team on an International Tour and keep the winning team together to show that local Filipino Rugby talent can match it with the best in Asia. 2013 Philippine Development Team: Glen Denton (Eagles) Chris Hettel (Eagles) Masa Sekiguchi (Eagles) Dino Gonzales (Eagles) Evans Atandi (Eagles) John Odullio (Eagles) Tim Kong (Eagles) Jeepy Paypon (Eagles) Jovic Paypon (Eagles) Tim Bweheni (Eagles) Robert Jones (Eagles) Rupert Zappia (Eagles) Paulo Jordan (Eagles) Chris Everingham (Eagles) Chris Ignacio (Eagles) Gerard Davis (Eagles) Phil Sinclair (Nomads) David Feeney (Nomads) Jon Morales (Nomads) Aaron Briddon (Nomads) Steve Mommaerts (Nomads) Sam Fogg (Nomads) Chris Anderson (Nomads) Geoffrey Veraces (Cebu) Peter Sawal (Cebu) Merrick Magdaraog (Globe) Francis Marcilla (Globe) Jay Coronel (Globe) Krish Aliwalas (Globe) Melvin Devera (Globe) Eddie Tesoro (Globe) Jason Lock (Mavericks) Lito Ramirez (Mavericks) Marc Balucan (Mavericks) Reb Dela Cruz (Mavericks) Ralph Dimayuga (Mavericks) Mark Esteban (QCPU) Gaz Holgate Head Coach: Matthew Cullen Physiotherapist: Rico Barin All photos on this page by Christopher Hettel
The Philippine Development Team would like to thank their sponsors: Philippine Development Team Push Hong Kong to the Limit in Game 1 of the 2013 International Series7/25/2013
The Philippine National Development Team led by Jon Morales showed that local talent here in the Philippines can match it with their regional neighbors when they narrowly lost to Hong Kong 36 - 30. In one of the best games of the year, both development teams played in wet conditions and displayed exceptional skills to run in ten tries in an arm wrestle that went down to the last minute. The Philippines took a halftime lead into the game by 11 - 5 with Nomads flyer Phil Sinclair scoring a classic wingers try to open the game. Hong Kong then gave up two penalties that were converted by Rupert Zappia. The second half saw the Hong Kong team step up the pace and the game hung in the balance when Tim Bweheni beat three defenders to take an 18 - 17 lead. Hong Kong then scored three unanswered tries to lead 30 - 18 and the game looked to be sewn up for Hong Kong. Coach Matt Cullen then replaced several of the tiring Filipino players with fresh legs and a number of local players made their debut for the Philippines. The replacements played above themselves to claw back into the game and the Philippines scored two late tries to trail by 36 - 30. Replacement players Jay Coronel and Mark Bulacan both showed they can compete at the International Level and led the comeback with some fierce defense. The final whistle blew and the Philippines were pushing Hong Kong to limit to defend their slight lead. Game two in the International Development Series will take place at Southern Plains this Saturday July 27th at 3pm and the Philippine team will be eager to start where they left off in yesterday's game. All photos on this page by Hannah Reyes
The PRFU would like to thank the following sponsors for supporting the 2013 Philippine National development Team: The Philippine Rugby Football Union is proud to announce the players who have been selected to be part of the Philippine Volcanoes team that will compete in the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013. 1. Wolff, Andrew Penaflorida 2. Clarke, Ryan Briones 3. Saunders, Oliver Abalos 4. Holgate, Gareth dela Rosa 5. Letts, Jake Robrigado 6. Matthews, Joseph Bembo 7. Coveney, Justin Villazor 8. Stern, Kenneth Capinpin 9. Saunders, Matthew Abalos (C) 10. Letts, Michael Robrigado (C) 11. Lynch, Sean Celada 12. Olivier, Patrice Ortiz Head coach: Albert Caravelli Team manager: Matthew Cullen Physiotherapist: Christopher Bailey The Rugby World Cup Sevens will be held from June 28-30 in Moscow, Russia. It is the world's premier international rugby sevens competition organised by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), and is contested by the world's top 24 men's national sevens teams every four years. Rugby Sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of Rugby Union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is now recognized as an Olympic sport and will make its debut in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Rugby World Cup Sevens official site: http://www.rwcsevens.com |
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