Globe PH Volcanoes Bound for Korea

The Globe Philippine Volcanoes are all set for the second leg of the 2018 Asia Rugby Sevens Series in Korea this weekend. The Volcanoes are coming off a Top 4 finish in Hong Kong two weeks ago, with an aim to climb the ladder a little higher. ​

​​The Volcanoes welcome back exciting and experienced prospects to the team; Jonico Ater Hardwick has been called into the Top 12 along with stalwarts Ned Plarizan Stephenson,  Edlen Cortez Hernandez and Sean Celada Lynch. The Volcanoes will be aiming for another promising display according to Team Captain, Christopher Arpon Bird.

​“We had a good start to the last tournament, we want to replicate that performance and show consistency. We are confident with how our training has been the last week in Manila, it’s now time to execute and attain the results we aim for,” said Bird. 
The Volcanoes will face a similar yet tough task as they did in Hong Kong. The Philippines draw Japan (1st seed), China (5th seed) and Malaysia (8th seed) in Pool A of the competition. 

Ned Plarizan Stephenson

Team Captain, Christopher Arpon Bird

The Volcanoes targets both China and Malaysia as potential opportunities to progress to the final rounds

“China and Malaysia have shown both their team’s strengths and weaknesses, we aim to target those weaknesses to exploit potential opportunities for our team to get ahead. Sevens rugby is very unpredictable, so we have to be sure to control the game where we can and maximize our opportunities,” shared the Team Captain. 

The Asia Sevens Series is the premier Sevens competition in Asia, focusing only on the Top 8 teams across the region. Only the Philippines and Malaysia from Southeast Asia qualified for 2018. Thailand and Singapore have unfortunately been ranked outside the Top 8 nations since 2017. The United Arab Emirates booked their spot in next year’s Top 8 after defeating both Thailand and Singapore this year in the Asia Trophy Series. 

The Volcanoes have two legs remaining, after Korea the team travels to Sri Lanka for the third and final leg on October 12 to decide the final rankings for 2018.