The Philippine Volcanoes came out of the first day of the second leg of the Asian 7s Series in Borneo with two wins and one loss. 

Game 1 - Japan

The day started with the Volcanoes taking on the number one Asian Rugby Nation, Japan. The Volcanoes began the game with strongman Chris Hitch breaking through the Japanese defense and running 70 meters to start the day for the Volcanoes on a positive note. Japan then capitalized on some simple errors by the Philippines in their own half and quickly scored three consecutive tries. Vice Captain, Oliver Saunders then replied with a strong try to keep the Philippines alive at halftime, with Japan leading 17 - 12. Japan showed why they are ranked number one in Asia in the second half as they scored three more tries while  the Philippines though Harry Morris managed only one try. The Volcanoes did not play to their potential and all agreed a better effort would be needed in the upcoming games to ensure a top four placing at the championships. Justin Coveney "The Flying Jeepney" was awarded the Volcanoes MVP for the first game.

Game 2 - Kazakhstan

The second game saw the Philippines up against Kazakhstan who, just last month, had defeated the Philippines to nab a top four position in the Shanghai Sevens Tournament. The Volcanoes were intent on revenge and it was Philippine team newcomer Joe Matthews who opened with a great individual run where he was tackled on the line to score. However, it seemed like this positive start put the Philippines to sleep as they allowed the Kazakhs to come back into the game and score three unanswered tries to take a 19 - 5 lead at the end of the first half. During the halftime break, Volcanoes Captain Jake Letts rallied his teammates and asked them to keep their composure under pressure in the second half as he could see the Kazakhstan team starting to tire in the 40 degree humid conditions. The Philippines Captain was correct and the Volcanoes came out with Joe Matthews scoring his second try of the match, followed by his younger brother, Luke who scored to even the game at 19 - 19.

The Philippines realized that a draw would be good enough and somehow lifted their game in the last play to find the" Iceman" Chris Hitch unmarked out wide on the wing to score the winning try of the match. This set the scene for a showdown between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates in the last game of the day, with both teams sitting with one win and one loss, this game would decide who would enter the top 8 teams for the finals on Sunday. The Philippines MVP for the second match was awarded to Luke Matthews.

Game 3 - United Arab Emirates

National Team Coach, Matt Cullen observed that the Philippines had played to only about  80% of their potential in the first two games of the day. Coach Cullen knew that the team would have to step up for the last game against the UAE who are ranked among the top five nations in Asia. The Philippines came out with firing and scored the first two tries through Joe Matthews and Matt Saunders, unfortunately both tries were scored out wide and both conversions were missed. This allowed the strong UAE team to fight back and score a try under the posts just before halftime to bring the score back to 10 - 7. The Philippines showed good skills in the second half and substitute Luke Matthews was again injected into the game which resulted in a try, which gave the Philippine a commanding 22 - 7 lead. The Volcanoes saved their best game for last and went onto to win the game by 22 - 14. . The MVP for the third match was split between Joe Matthews and Chris Hitch.

The wins versus Kazakhstan and UAE put the Philippines up against the home favourites, Malaysia in a quarter final battle with the winner of this game moving up to the Cup Division Finals and guaranteed a top 4 placing at the Asian Championships

Coach Matt Cullen was very happy with the Volcanoes efforts on the first day of the competition and applauded the heroic efforts of several players who put their bodies on the line to make try saving tackles and display the never give up attitude that the Volcanoes are renowned for, he explained that " We did not play the most exciting 7s Rugby today, but we worked extremely hard in defense and were able to improve with every game and finally showed some quality 7s skills in the final game. This will be a positive way to enter tomorrow’s crucial match against Malaysia."

The Philippine Volcanoes will travel to Kota Kinabalu this today, September 22, to compete in the second leg of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series, which will see the top twelve nations in Asia do battle for the right to play in the world famous Hong Kong 7s in March 2012. The Volcanoes ranked 7th in the 1st leg of the championships which were played in Shanghai last month which was a little disappointing considering they defeated the eventual winners, Korea 19 to 14. The Volcanoes showed that they can win at the top levels in Asia and defeated the United Emirates, Korea and Thailand in a competitive weekend of top
quality rugby.

The Volcanoes have made some positive changes to the squad who will compete in this weekend's Borneo Sevens by recruiting four top-level Filipino players from Australia. Coach Matt Cullen explained “These players will definitely help in
breaking into the top four teams in Borneo and they are all playing top level Rugby in Australia. To win at this level you need 12 strong players and the new recruits will give the Philippines the much needed impact off the bench to compete against the best teams in Asia.”

As it stands, the Philippines are due to play United Japan, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates before qualifying for the finals on Sunday in Borneo. The team has been preparing all week in a training camp in Manila and are feeling very confident that they can break into the winners circle this weekend. Team captain, Jake Letts is very upbeat about the tournament and has challenged the team to play to their maximum potential to achieve their goal of a top four finish at the tournament.

The Borneo 7s will be the last major tournament for the Philippine Volcanoes Men's team in 2011 and they have had another successful year by winning five out of eight International matches. The National Under 20s or JuniorVolcanoes will compete in December when the Philippine Rugby Football Union hosts the Asian Under 20s Championships in Manila.

Round 2 of the Globe PRFU 7’s League exploded at PhilSports Stadium on Saturday September 10 as the new teams, the Raging Bison and Teambog Vipers picked up the pace and displayed a new spirited level of the competition. In hot, sunny conditions, the new boys on the block threw out the challenge to the Globe Immortals against whom they will compete for the Globe-sponsored trophy. 

Globe started the day with a 5 – 5 all draw against the Bison and then beat the Vipers 15 –0 in their second game. The Bison then improved on their record and came out to defeat the Vipers 10 – 5. All games were very close and the Bison have sent a clear message to the Globe Immortals that they have the players and talent to compete for the Plate Trophy.

In the Cup Division, the Nomads threw their hat in the ring by defeating the more fancied Alabang Eagles by 10-0 to draw even with the Eagles as the leading teams in the top division. Saturday also saw a host of National Team players 
joining the local teams and getting in on the action.

The next round of the GLOBE PRFU 7s League will be played at Philsports Stadium this Saturday September 17, with Rd 4 at Cuenca field on Saturday, September 24 and the league finals at Nomads Sports Club on Saturday, October 8 at Nomad Sports Club.

The Philippine  Rugby Football Union has named the players who will compose the Philippine National Men's 7s Team to compete in the Borneo 7s Rugby Tournament in September. 


The 12 players are:

Mark Chatting
Justin Coveney
Chris Everingham
Chris Hitch
Jake Letts (Captain)
Joe Matthews 
Luke Matthews
Harry Morris
Matt Saunders
Oli Saunders
Eric Tai 
Andrew Wolff

The tournament is scheduled on September 23-25 in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo. This 
is the second stop of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series after Shanghai, where the Philippine Volcanoes placed 7th.

Following the completion of the Shanghai and Borneo tournaments, ARFU will have a ranking of Asia’s elite sevens teams. The ranking will determine which Asian national teams are invited to the premier international tournaments such as the Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens in March 2012.

For more information on the HSBC Asian 7s Series, visit: http://www.asian5nations.com/asian-7-series