The Philippine Volcanoes, the national rugby team posted an emphatic victory yesterday in the first of their two international test matches being contested in Guam.

Playing Brunei who had been promoted this season the Volcanoes were on the score board after only two minutes with an unconverted try scored by wing Ron Pena. For the next ten minutes the Brunei team defended valiantly against sustained pressure. Inevitably holes appeared and the Volcanoes began to score at will.

Quality possession was secured at the set pieces by the tight five and the Volcanoes back row of Wolff, Barbacetto and Stewart were competitive at every break down.

The three quarters revelled in the abundance of ball and further tries were scored by Harry Morris, Oliver Saunders (2), Matt Saunders (2), Gareth Holgate, and Ron Pena. All of these were converted by Pena.

Several times during the first half tight head prop Josh Sutcliffe made charges into Brunei territory forcing defending players out of position. Jake Letts marshalled the back line from scrum half with maturity beyond his years and he is destined to be the lynch pin of the team for years to come.

The half time score was 54 - 0 and the Philippines were in total control.

The last day of the SEA Games Rugby 7s competition saw a monumental effort by the Philippine Volcanoes, coming from 4th place to secure the Silver medal.  Disregarded in pre-tournament calculations by all their competitors, the “Son’s of Lapu Lapu” finished very strongly in the end, with an absolutely enthralling and intense semi-final match outwitting, overpowering and outlasting number 1 ranked Malaysia and securing a berth in the Gold medal match.  Then for 11 minutes the golden dream was alive, with the score against Thailand in the final poised evenly at 14–14 .  It was a tense and eventful first half, with Philippines’ tight and controlled game containing Thailand’s exuberant speed.  However, eventually the Thai’s were able to unshackle themselves from the brutal Philippine defense and gain some open space, which allowed their speedy wingers to break through with 2 unanswered tries, closing the game out 28–14, leaving Philippines with the Silver.

Silver Medal winning Volcanoes

 Press Release - Volcanoes in epic last day effort secure Silver (571.88 kB)

The Philippine Rugby 7’s Team is quietly confident, as they face D-Day against Malaysia in a semi-final game (2.40pm Thailand Time) to decide who will go through to the Gold Medal match.  In their last game of the pool rounds against Cambodia yesterday, the “Son’s of Lapu Lapu” produced a comprehensive seven try victory (for 43 nil score), which Assistant Coach Alan MacDonald described as “the first time the boys were able to put into action what they have been practicing in training, they finally were able to play the way we wanted“.  This is should serve as a warning that the Philippine Volcanoes still has significant room for improvement and has still yet to show its full potential.

 Press Release - Volcanoes quietly confident as they face do-or-die Semi (570.84 kB)

Sunday saw the Philippine National Rugby Team off to a strong start, in day one of the SEA Games Rugby Sevens competition, despite the Philippine Squad ranking 4th at the end of the days competition.

The “Son’s of Lapu Lapu” finished with one win and two losses from the days matches, however both games that were lost were very tightly contested, with only one try separating the Philippines from victory. An excellent performance considering this was the first time the squad had ever played together in competition and had only had limited training together as a team prior to the tournament. So continued improvement and stronger performances are anticipated with each game the team plays together. The strong performance and close resultswere unexpected by most in the crowd and created a considerable discussion around the ground, as teams and their officials realized that there was another "medal contender" on the scene.

 Press Release - Philippine Rugby Team creates a buzz with strong SEAG start (574.24 kB) 

Today was the first full training session for the ”Son’s of Lapu Lapu” on a good rugby training ground. At the intensive two hour session under Head Coach Rick Hartley, with support from Assistant Coach Alan MacDonald, the skills of the team, as they went through a system of set plays and drills were immediately evident.

Even though over the previous few days the team have had to train at a variety of less than favourable training sites (like the Athletes Village car park), they have already demonstrated their cohesion, speed, experience and skill levels – they are set to make an indelible impact on the tournament.

 Press Release - SEAG Rugby Squad has first good hit-out (566.92 kB)