Volcanoes Dev take on Durham University rugby

Team Leader: Vince Amar Young

Team Leader: Sam Aquino Callaghan

After successfully recently competing in four sevens competitions across England, the Volcanoes Development team will now switch to 15s rugby for an exhibition match against Durham University. Durham University extended an invite to the Philippine team as a pre season opener after being impressed with the atmosphere and team culture the players showed at the recently held London 7s.

The development program formulated out of the United Kingdom will feature 20 players of Philippine heritage, all vying to continue to represent the country on the field and build their rugby pathway to the premier team, the Philippine Volcanoes. A mix of current, past and new players will have the opportunity to put their best foot forward in the exhibition match which will be played in the North East of England.

“It’s great to capitalise on the momentum generated from the 7s program. Having close to 40 members in the squad allows the playing group to not only play 7s rugby, but to also play the traditional format of 15s. It also allows the union to capture members of the tight 5 which don’t always have the opportunity to showcase their skills at the 7s level. It’s going to be a great match up this weekend" shared Jake Letts of Philippine Rugby.

Some notable names that will feature this weekend include James Halasan Ryan, Craig Bayer Wallace, Raf Dian Zappia and Vincent Amar Young.  All members that have represented the Philippines in the past. Some new names to the program will include Carlo Moriska and Salvatore Domingo who make their debut for the program. The exhibition match will be featured as a charity rugby match with all proceeds going to Movember to raise awareness for Men’s Health.

"It's another exciting weekend to be involved in with for Philippine Rugby. Our players look forward to the challenge against Durham. It's going to be exciting to see Filipinos across the UK team up once again to showcase their skills for the country and support Men's Health at the same time" shared Vince Amar Young. 

​The match will be played on Sunday 10th of October at 3:40 PM at Maiden Castle. The Men's 15s Program is supported by First Pacific and the MVP Sports Foundation. 
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