HSBC and the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) announced the competition schedule for the HSBC Asian 5 Nations 2012 (HSBC A5N). This year marks the fifth year of the HSBC A5N, Asia’s premier international rugby competition, and the tournament is poised to chart new growth in the Game across the region from the elite level to the grassroots in 2012.

While all eyes will be on the Top 5, it will be Division 1 that kicks-off the action in 2012. The Philippines, one of the up and coming teams in Asian rugby, will host the tournament from April 15-21 in Manila. For the first time, the four teams – Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and the Philippines – will play a round-robin competition. This will give them an extra match with the objective of further preparing teams for promotion to the Top 5.

Philippines rugby is on a high after winning promotion last season and making its debut in the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens this month. But watch out for Sri Lanka, led by former England international Phil Greening on a two-year coaching contract. They will be keen to win promotion back to the Top 5 after performing admirably last season. The other teams in Division 1 are Singapore and Chinese Taipei.

For more information on the Asian 5 Nations, visit www.asian5nations.com .

The matches will be played at Rizal Memorial Stadium on April 15, 18 and 21. Admission is free on April 15 & 18, but tickets will be sold for the April 21 games. Ticket prices are P 100, P 200, P 400 & P 800 and will be available for purchase through TicketWorld.

The Philippine matches will be telecast live by ABS-CBN. 

The Philippine Rugby Football Union has named the 34-man squad that will train for the upcoming Asian 5 Nations Division 1 Championships  to be held in Rizal Stadium, Manila on April 15-21, 2012.

For the third year in a row, the PRFU has selected a squad composed entirely of Filipino heritage players. Retained in the core group are a number of seasoned campaigners along with 5 debutants elevated to the national squad. These include forwards Mat Bellenie, James Neilson, Jake Ward and Steve Howorth along with utility player Brian West. Head Coach Expo Mejia feels confident he has the squad capable of winning the Division 1 Championships.

Mejia said, “It is never an easy thing to pick a national squad as you always leave behind quality players, but I feel this is the best combination we could come up with. We certainly have the depth to win Division 1 and the challenge will be to play 3 matches in 7 days.” Captain Michael Letts who has just finished the season with the Toyota team in Japan was excited by the influx of new talent. “It will certainly sharpen the competitive edge at training as we’ll all be fighting hard to grab a starting spot on the team,” remarked Letts.

Key players Gareth Holgate, Joven Clark, Fred Morris and Nick Pineda were all unavailable and veteran Josh Sutcliffe has recently announced his retirement from international rugby. “I would like to single out Josh for his tremendous loyalty and service to the Volcanoes over the years. He has had an outstanding career and is an inspiration to the entire squad both on and off the field,” said Coach Mejia.

The squad will assemble in Manila on Sunday April 8 to begin a weeklong training camp. The final squad of 24 players will be announced before the competition. The Volcanoes will face Singapore on April 15, Chinese Taipei on April 18 and Sri Lanka on April 21. Ticket information will be released shortly by the PRFU.

The Philippine National Men's 15s team has enjoyed much success since it began competing in the Asian 5 Nations -- Asia's premier Rugby Union Tournament. The team has managed to top its division and win promotion for three consecutive years, starting in Division 4 in 2008 and climbing to Division 1 in 2011. If the Volcanoes win Division 1, the Philippines will be promoted to the Elite Division in 2013 to compete with Rugby powerhouses Japan, Hong Kong. Kazakhstan and United Arab Emirates. For more information on the Asian 5 Nations, visit  http://asian5nations.com/

The 2012 Volcanoes A5N squad:

Forwards: 
Phil Abraham, JC Bautista, Mat Bellenie, Terry Carroll, Austin Dacanay, Michael de Guzman, Michael Duhig, Kit Guerra, Chris Hitch, Chris Hettell, Steve Howorth, James Neilson, Tyler Perez, Nick Perry, Darran Seeto, Richard Taylor, Josh Tolentino, Jaime Urquijo, Jake Ward

Backs: 
Justin Coveney, Chris Everingham, Cleo Gomez, Jake Letts, Michael Letts, Joe Matthews, Luke Matthews, Jon Morales, Harry Morris, Patrice Olivier, James Price, Matt Saunders, Oliver Saunders, Kenny Stern, Brian West

Management: 
Expo Mejia (Head Coach),  Jarred Hodges (Assistant Coach), Matt Cullen (Manager), Damian Raper (Physiotherapist)

The Philippine Rugby Football Union have selected the Philippine Volcanoes Men’s Sevens team that will debut at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens Rugby Tournament this coming March.

The 12 squad members are:

Terry Carroll 
Mark Chatting 
Justin Coveney 
Chris Hitch 
Jake Letts 
Michael Letts      
Joseph Matthews  
Luke Matthews           
Patrice Olivier
Matt Saunders
Oliver Saunders 
Jake Ward 

In compliance with the International Rugby Board regulations, the 100% Filipino-heritage squad consists of players who were either born in the Philippines, or have at least one parent or grandparent that was born in the Philippines.  

All players were selected by the PRFU National Teams Committee and are the top 12 players who are currently available and playing Rugby 7s at elite levels. Eight of the players namely, Mark Chatting, Justin Coveney, Chris Hitch, Jake Letts, brothers Joseph & Luke Matthews and Matt & Oliver Saunders were part of the team that won a Silver Medal at last year’s Borneo Sevens Tournament. 

“It was a difficult task to choose the final twelve, in view of all the quality players that put their hand up for the competition.” Said National Coaches Matt Cullen & Expo Mejia. “We also had to consider their fitness levels, existing injuries and other factors that may impact their performance. Whether they were selected or not, we are proud of all our players, past and present, because they all had a role in getting us to where we are today. They will be in our hearts and minds when we step onto the pitch in Hong Kong.”

The Philippine Volcanoes will train together in Manila on third week of March and depart for Hong Kong on March 20. The Philippines is in Pool E with Canada, Spain and Zimbabwe. 

Organized by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union and co-title sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airways and HSBC, the Hong Kong Sevens 2012 will take place March 23 - 25. Around 120,000 spectators from all over the world are expected to watch the tournament, which will be held at the iconic 40,000-seater Hong Kong stadium. 

For more information on the Hong Kong Sevens, visit: www.hksevens.com

New Tournament Format Promises Spectacular Sevens in 2012

The Official Draw for the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2012 was held on February 16 at Exchange Square in Hong Kong.  

Earlier this month, the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) and the International Rugby Board (IRB) unveiled an exciting new format for the world-famous Hong Kong Sevens, with Hong Kong being awarded a unique status as the venue for the world’s first HSBC Sevens World Series Qualifier.

As such, this year’s Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will host two unique competitions side by side. The HSBC Sevens World Series (HSBC SWS) event will feature the 12 core teams currently competing on the Series.  

A separate HSBC Sevens World Series Qualifier will also comprise 12 teams, including Regional champions from all six Rugby regions recognized by the IRB.  In the HSBC SWS Qualifier, Hong Kong, together with 11 other teams will be playing for the right to become a core team.  The three countries finishing in the top three positions from the Qualification tournament will be granted automatic core team status on the HSBC Sevens World Series 2012/2013, joining the 12 existing core teams on this year’s Series.

After the conclusion of tonight’s draw, both competitions are shaping up to be extremely exciting.

On the HSBC Sevens World Series front, this year’s Series is again a testament to the fast-rising parity in international sevens with four teams winning the five tournaments played to date.  New Zealand, the defending Hong Kong Sevens champions, is the only team to have won twice on the Series after their victories in Port Elizabeth and Wellington.  

As the Series heads into Hong Kong just 18 points separate the top four teams on the Series table: New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa and England; while 5th placed Samoa recently won its first event of the season with a thrilling victory last weekend in Las Vegas.

Currently, New Zealand tops the HSBC SWS table on 92 points with Fiji just five points adrift on 87. South Africa is in third place with 76 points followed by England with 74.  After winning in Las Vegas, Samoa is in fifth place with 69 points.

The Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens remains the largest tournament on the Series with 24 teams as opposed to the 16 teams participating at other HSBC SWS events.

Officiating tonight’s draw were: Stephen Lam, GBS, JP, Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government; T Brian Stevenson, SBS, JP, President of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU); Ivan Chu, Chief Operating Officer of co-title sponsor Cathay Pacific Airways; Guy Harvey-Samuel, Group General Manager, Head of International of co-title sponsor HSBC; HKRFU Chairman Trevor Gregory and Hong Kong Sevens Tournament Operations Director Rod Mason. 

For tonight’s draw the 12 core teams in the HSBC SWS competition were grouped into Pools A, B and C.  The Cup Winner, Runner-Up and Third Place finisher from Las Vegas, Samoa, New Zealand and Fiji, respectively, were seeded into the first band of Pool A, B and C.  The remaining 9 teams were grouped into 3 groups of 3 based upon the HSBC SWS standings following Las Vegas and drawn into the 2nd, 3rd and 4th bands of Pools A, B and C.

Following the draw for the HSBC SWS competition, Pool A comprises Samoa, England, Argentina and Kenya.  Pool B features Series leaders New Zealand, South Africa, Wales and the United States.  Pool C features Fiji, Australia, France and Scotland. 

For the 12-team HSBC SWS qualifier competition the teams were drawn into Pools D, E and F, each comprising four teams.  The 12 teams were first grouped into 4 groups of 3 based on their performances at the HSBC SWS and other IRB Sevens events over the past two years and drawn into each band of Pools D, E and F.

Following the draw for the HSBC SWS Qualifier, Pool D features Tonga, Uruguay, the hosts Hong Kong and China.  Pool E comprises Canada, Spain, Zimbabwe and debut team the Philippines.  Pool F includes Portugal, Russia, Japan and the tournament’s second debutant in 2012 Guyana.

All team groupings have been ratified by the IRB and Core Teams and Qualifier Teams will not play against each other.  All Core Teams participating in the Cup, Plate and Bowl shall receive HSBC SWS ranking points for the tournament.  The top four placed teams from the Qualification tournament will receive ranking points in respect of their final placing in the HSBC SWS Shield.

The Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will be played from March 23 to 25, 2012 at the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium. For more information please visit the official website at http://www.hksevens.com.

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The Philippine Rugby Football Union are proud to announce that the Philippine National Men’s 7s Rugby team has received its invitation from the International Rugby Board to compete in the world’s largest rugby sevens tournament, the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.

Scheduled on March 23-25, 2012 at the Hong Kong Stadium (capacity 40,000) the Hong Kong 7s is a by-invitation-only tournament attended by the top sevens teams in the world like New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and England. It is considered the premier leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series played in Australia, Dubai, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Japan, Scotland and England. Sevens Rugby, which plays seven men per team on the field, is a faster, more exciting version of Rugby Union which plays 15 men per side.  

It was the Philippine Volcanoes’ Silver-medal winning performance at the Borneo 7s held in September 2011, which merited the invitation to this prestigious tournament. Ranked 7th in a field of 12 teams, the Volcanoes, led by Men’s 7s Captain, Jake Letts, guided by National, Coach Matt Cullen and Assistant, Noel Flowers, surprised everyone by beating their highly-regarded rivals one by one, finishing second only to Asia’s number one-ranked Japan. 

“This invitation to the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens marks a milestone in the history of the Union” says PRFU President, Alvin San Diego. “It’s a testament to the hard work of our players, coaches and supporters and more importantly, proof that Filipinos can excel in the sport of Rugby.”

For more information on Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, visit:
http://www.hksevens.com

The Asian Rugby Junior Division 2 Finals took place at Rizal Memorial Stadium on Saturday, December 17, 2011. The Philippines played against Malaysia for the third and fourth place and this proved to be a closely fought game with both teams trying to avoid relegation. The game was a very even contest with Malaysia and the Philippines scoring early tries to remain at 5 all halfway through the first half. Malaysia then stepped up the tempo and forced the Philippines into some crucial errors late in the second half that both resulted in tries to Malaysia. The second half saw a concerted comeback from the Philippine team and this was led by Danny Matthews who scored a try for the Philippines and kicked a penalty and conversion to bring the Philippines back to challenge Malaysia at 20 – 18. During the last five minutes the Philippines were attacking the Malaysian line and unfortunately could not capitalize on their territorial advantage and Malaysia were able to kick a field goal on the fulltime whistle to win the game 23 – 18.

The championship final was played between Korea and Chinese Taipei and both teams were determined to win the Division 2 final to gain promotion to Division 1. The game started at a ferocious pace and both forward packs used their big tight five players to try and dominate possession. It was Korea who scored the opening try and then followed up this effort with their number 8 scoring from the back of a driving maul to take a 12 – 5 lead into the halftime break. Chinese Taipei staged a comeback in the second half but it was Korea who ran in four late tries to run away with the game by 36 – 17. The Koreans will move back up to Division one in 2012 and the Philippines will be relegated to Division 3.

The Asian Rugby Junior Championship was the first internationally sanctioned Rugby Union tournament  to be played at Rizal Memorial Stadium and the PRFU are looking forward to hosting the  Asian 5 Nations Men’s 15s Division 1 Championships at Rizal next April 13 – 20th. This tournament will see the Philippines take on Sri Lanka, Singapore and Chinese Taipei and will be broadcast throughout the Philippines.