Volcanoes 7s Dev finish 3rd at Cheltenham, team presses ahead for London 7s

Team photo at the recent Cheltenham 7s

Craig Bayer Wallace in action

Three from three in their last three games on Saturday saw the Volcanoes Development 7s team share the podium at the Cheltenham 7s last weekend. Two closely fought out matches saw the Philippines go down 20 to 19 against the Patriots, then 14 to 19 against Phystory RFC. The next three games however saw three straight victories and gave the team a third overall finish at the competition.

“It was a good way to end the tournament, going close in the first two games however a few errors were costly. Luckily for our team, we bounced back and played some good rugby to finish third out of the twelve teams that entered” Vince Amar Young shared, Team Leader for the United Kingdom program.

Will Obienta Anderson was voted player of the tournament along with strong performances from Rafael Dian Zappia and Charles Amistozo-Warren.
 
The Volcanoes Development team will push ahead and look for another strong performance this weekend, as they gear up for their third of four events at the London 7s. The Philippine heritage team will be boosted this weekend by the return of Sam Aquino Callaghan and Jerome Padillo Rudder, both key players to the program. Rudder has been in stellar form for the Volcanoes after his 2019 Asia Sevens Series season.

The team will also see the return of two former U19 nationals, Francis Glen Serafica and Ethan Cuison Chen. Making his debut for the program is Tomas Villalba Smith, following in the footsteps of his older brother Luc.
 
“This weekend will be exciting for the team; the London 7s will see a large number of teams and spectators. We have selected another strong and youthful team, as well as some new talent making their debut. They are being led by experienced sevens members Chris Arpon Bird and Vincent Amar Young. Hopefully, they can continue their momentum from last weekend’s results” shared Jake Letts, CEO of Philippine Rugby.
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The team has also been invited to visit Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo at the Philippine Embassy in London who will be supporting the team by providing a national flag to showcase the Embassy's support. The Philippines have been named in Pool A and games are scheduled for 9:36, 11:06 and 14:42 local time.
 
For more information on results for this weekend follow Philippine Rugby’s social media account.