Ph Volcanoes prepped for Thailand rugby 7s

The Philippine Volcanoes national 7s teams have been announced for this weekends first round of the 2022 Asia Sevens Series in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Volcanoes have been put through their last short and intense training week by their national coaches to prepare for the top teams in Asia.

“Our coaches Darryl, Fitz and Andy have had a busy week selecting and preparing their Top 12. It’s been twelve months since our national athletes have played the top Asian teams, it’s going to be exciting to see them take the field again in Thailand, which will be the first of three legs” says Jake Letts, General Manager for Performance for Philippine Rugby.

The Volcanoes women’s team have been grouped into Pool A alongside Japan, Kazakhstan and Thailand while the men’s have been grouped to play Hong Kong, China and UAE.

Coaches Fitz Taua’a and Andy Brown have named experienced members SEA Games silver medalists Helena Indigne, Aiumi Ono and Rassiel Sales in the team as well as investing in youth, naming debutants Janie Puig and Bhea Estacia into their first tournament after a strong local season for the SKF Mavericks. For the Men’s SEA Games gold medalist Tommy Kalaw Gilbert will Co-Captain the team with Kai Ledesma Stroem of the Manila Nomads. Rafael Philipps will make his debut after being recruited from the United Kingdom with Clark Jet Jonel Madrona also earning his selection into the Top 12 for the Volcanoes.

It’s been eight years since both programs have competed together on the Asian Sevens Series across three legs, the women’s earning their position into the Top 8 after winning gold in 2019 in Division 2. This result promoted the women’s program into the top division to join the men's program and compete across the three tournaments in Thailand, Korea and UAE.

“Some very tough competition in Asia, all games will be very competitive and we want to compete with the best. It’s a pathway forward to a program re-starting after the pandemic and we have big plans over the next twelve to twenty four months. We have an exciting team named for both sides and we look forward to an action packed weekend” Letts adds.

All games and the release of the schedule will be streamed live via Asia Rugby and Philippine Rugby on Facebook