The Manila Nomads proved that they are the top ranked local team leading into the Manila 10s by convincingly defeating the Alabang Eagles by 33 - 19 in the Cup Final of the JML 10s league. With the series at one game each leading into the final, the Nomads came out with all guns blazing in an overwhelming first half display that saw them take a 19 point lead in the first half. Tries to Jon Morales, John Munro and Chris Anderson left the Eagles in their wake as the Nomads forwards dominated the set pieces and barreled through the Eagles defenses to set up quality ball for their backs. Coach Phil Gittus tactics of simple forward dominated rugby paid dividends and the Nomads mistake rate was minimal as the Eagles struggled to escape their own half. The return of David Carman and Tim Bweheni helped spark a short lived Eagles revival in the second half and they both scored late tries to bring the score back to a respectable level. The Nomads defeated the Eagles and retained the PRFU 10s Cup for 2013.

The Nomads defeated the Eagles in last year’s plate final at the Manila 10s tournament and have set themselves up to defend this title at next weekend’s competition. 

It was fantastic to see all the local PRFU teams playing in the JML 10s finals in preparation for the 2013 Manila 10s tournament. The JML 10s finals also saw the Globe Immortals play the Makati Mavericks with the winner of this final securing the last available position at the Manila 10s. The Makati Mavericks were shouting war cries at the kick off and were then shouting victory cries at the end of the game when they ran out winners by 49 - 0.

Good luck to all the local PRFU teams and Clubs in the Manila 10s next weekend.

The north and south ladies teams battled for another PRFU league championship title. The Cebu Lady Dragons, who had previously won all matches against Manila, came to the pitch expecting another victory. Manila Mayhem had other plans.

The first match was evenly contested. Both teams put their bodies on the line in a grueling encounter. An ankle injury in the 5th minute ended the game early for Lady Volcano Madille Salinas, forcing Cebu coach Dean Baker to adjust their game plan. In the 7th minute, Manila scrumhalf Cassie Umali picked up a loose ball and broke through to the score line, earning the first try of the match. With a physically larger forwards pack, the Manila ladies kept most of the match on their territory, drawing the bulk of Cebu’s defence and freeing space for their backs. Lady Volcano winger Nikki Lira out-smarted Cebu defenders with a quick sidestep, scoring a swift second try.

The second half saw the Cebu team take advantage of a series of penalties by the Manila team. After a quick tap from a penalty, Cebu player Aiumi Ono scored the Southerners' first try. With the match close at 10-5, Manila ladies relied on their forwards, who pushed the ball to the attacking zone while drawing Cebu defenders. This play created a big overlap, and with quick passing from the backs, substitute winger Loujen Saldo caught the ball on the run and scored the third try in between the posts. The first game ended with a score of 15-5 in favor of Manila.

The second match saw stronger defence from both ladies teams. With the added pressure of needing to win against Manila by more than 10 points, the Cebu team relied on the strength of their forwards to defend their territory. However, a ruck on the 5 metre line gave a quick ball to Manila's backs and allowed the Manila team to score their first try of the second match. Inside Center Stephie Harringer crashed through Cebu defence after a quick pass from Lady Volcano Acee San Juan. A pop pass from Lady Volcano legend Arlene Trinkler to Rose dela Cruz then won Manila their second try and earned the team a 10-to-nil lead by halftime.

The second half exhibited a series of good tackles from both teams. The Cebu team again capitalized on infractions by Manila's players. After a prolonged phase on the 5 metre line, Cebu newbie Ica Astentista picked the ball from the ruck and dove over the line to score Cebu's first try. The last 5 minutes saw more quality tackling, particularly from Manila's Aye Honoras and Cebu's Cherry Manaug. Cebu Lady Volcano Luisa Jordan managed to break through Manila's defensive lines several times and was consistently able to draw at least two defenders with each attempt. Ending the match, another quick ball from the backs gave Nikki Lira the change to score Manila's third try. The second game ended with a final score of 17-5 in favor of Manila, and Most Valuable Player for the ladies division was later awarded to Manila fly half, Acee San Juan, and Cebu lock, Cherry Manaug.

It was two tough matches, but both teams demonstrated a much-improved brand of women’s rugby in the Philippines. These matches served as a tryout for the ladies who hope to be included in the National Women’s 15s and 7s teams

The Falcons started the day with an easy friendly against the Vipers in the Bowl division.  The Falcons, with minimal experience in the game play of rugby, still had the edge over the Vipers. Their flair in passing and precision running resulted in a 22 – 0 victory over the Vipers.   

The Hapons played a tough and expansive game plan in the first half, running the Falcons from side to side, but their effort was matched with the tough defence of the Falcons.  The Falcons utilized their more experienced and seasoned players, which was evident in the second half of the game. The strong running of the PNG players broke tackles and left the Hapons’ defence wanting.  The Falcons beat the Hapons 17-0. With this win, the Falcons were crowned the Bowl Champions.

Captain Chris Hettel led the Ibons through a tough and exciting game against the Carabaos.  It was necessary for the Ibons to beat the Carabaos with 18 or more points to walk away the victors in the Plate division.  With the Ibons under pressure even before the game started, the Carabaos were the clear favourites for this epic show down. The Carabaos displayed their strength and scored the first try of the game. With an unsuccessful conversion, they lead 5-0 in the first 5 min of the game. The Ibons answered with hardened defence which led to Nixon ripping the ball in a tackle. Scoring between the uprights, they left the Carabaos puzzled.

With the score now at 7-5, Ibons captain had a hard talk with his team. His encouraging words were evident and the Ibons scored next with some good backline play. Running the ball from within their own half, they scored in the right side corner. With an unsuccessful conversion, the score was 12-5. Captain Chris Hettel stepped up in the forwards with some good strong running, putting the Ibons on the front foot in attack. With the backs receiving good ball, they scored again just before half time and took the lead 19-5.

The second half was all about which team was the fittest. The strength of the Carabaos’ forwards, just could not keep up with the Ibons agile and speedy forwards. It was soon evident that the Ibons would walk away with a victory. When they scored the first try only a few minutes into the second half, the score was 24-5. It was not long after and they scored another try bringing the score to 29-5. The Carabaos manned up in defence but it was too little too late and the Ibons walked away with a victory of 29-5. The Ibons’ 24 point lead victory, guaranteed them as the Plate division victors, earning them the spoils of this exciting and courageous performance of rugby. 

The Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU) Games were held last Monday, March 4, 2013, at Dizon National High School in San Pablo, Laguna. This tournament marked the second time Touch Rugby was included in the association's calendar sports. Two women's teams, three men's teams, and four mixed teams competed for the champion title in their respective divisions.

In the ladies exhibition matches, rivals University of Makati (UMAK) Herons and Quezon City Polytechnic University (QCPU) Questors battled it out for the women’s title. The first game saw the Herons, led by Rugby Sevens Development player Loujen Saldo, win by a single point for a final score of 2-1. The Questors gave their all in the second game, aiming to force a winner-take-all third match. It was a close round, but a breakaway by Herons winger Cha Bolando in the penultimate minute scored the winning try. The Herons ended the match with another 2-1 lead against the Questors, and Cha Bolando was awarded Most Valuable Player for the Ladies Division.

The men's division finals match was the highlight of the tournament, as UMAK Herons and QCPU Questors battled for the league supremacy. The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) team fought hard on all their games but were ultimately bested by the other teams' experience. UMAK Herons, led by National Team Under 18s players Chester Anin and Raphael Ordoñez, were poised to defend their title, but QCPU Questors had other plans. Driving hard through UMAK's defensive wall, QCPU scored repeatedly by passing the ball out wide to speedy wingers. The Herons had difficulty adjusting to the Questors' pace and were unable to match the skill level. In the end, the QCPU Questors took the men's crown with a 4-0 sweep.

The mixed division saw a total of four teams: two each from UMAK and QCPU. UMAK A and QCPU A ended the pool games with a draw on their first encounter. They later faced each other again in the finals round. With accurate passing, speed, and stamina, QCPU A won by a final score of 4-2 against UMAK A, taking the title of mixed division champion.

This tournament continued to adhere to Rugby's new “set and rip” rule. Traditionally, players put the ball on the ground and stepped over it upon being touched. Under the new rule, players had to turn their back to the opposition and present the ball to their teammates, who, in turn, had to rip the ball from touched player. This variation is more consistent with the rules of full contact rugby. All teams were able to adjust to the new rule and played fun, high-level games throughout the day.


ALCU Games is an annual event. PRFU's goal is to include the other member schools in the Rugby division in the future.

The Manila Nomads bounced back to upset the Alabang Eagles in round two of the JML 10s League. After suffering an embarrassing first round defeat, the Nomads went back to the basics and a fired up team ran onto the field at Southern Plains ready to make amends for the first round lost. The Nomads went back to their forward dominated game plan and team Captain Dave Feeney led the relentless pick and drive routine that eventually led to the Nomads first try to Volcanoes player Jon Morales, who dived over from a five meters out. The Eagles struggled up front in the scrums and the larger Nomads pack constantly wheeled the Eagles to retain a glut of possession. When the Eagles backs were able to see some rare ball, they sparked into attack mode with Juan Engelbtrecht streaking down the sideline to link up with Volcanoes player Harry Morris to score the game's second try. Tim Bweheni then converted from outward and the Eagles took a 7 – 5 lead into halftime.

The second half hung in the balance until the assistant referee reported Tim Bweheni for a striking charge that resulted in a red card and this left the Eagles with 9 players.  The Nomads forwards continued to dominate possession. It was only a matter of time before Chris Anderson crossed out wide to give the Nomads a late lead by 10 – 7. The Eagles had a couple of late chances and displayed that even with a depleted side that they are lethal in attack. The Nomads were able to hang on and even the series at 1 – 1. The Cup Final will be played next Saturday March 2nd and the winner of this game will take the upper hand into Manila 10s on March 16/17th.

The Plate Division games saw the Carabaos hit form with their new Fijian contingent led by Saki Tuisolia as they easily beat the Globe Immortals by 39 – 0. The Mavericks proved they will definitely contend for the last spot in the Manila 10s tournament by defeating the Ibons by 17 – 15 in the game of the day. The Ibons squandered several chances including a conversion to even the game. National team u18s player, Ramirez Lito Cruz from the Tuloy Foundation, proved a handful for the Ibons and scored twice for the Mavericks.  These results have now set up two final games in next week’s Plate division with the Carabaos playing the Ibons to win the Plate trophy and the Vipers playing Globe to see who takes the coveted last spot in the Manila 10s team draw.

The Alabang Falcons have proven to be a handful in the Bowl division and won both their games on Saturday by defeating the Clark Rugby Club by 39 - 0 and then backed up to defeat Vipers by 67 – 0. In the other Bowl division game, the Hapons made their debut at the JML 10s and won a hard fought battle over the determined MAAP warriors by 21 – 0. The Falcons have a points majority lead over the rest of the field and the Hapons will need to defeat the Falcons by a large margin to compete for the Bowl Trophy.

The finals of the JML 10s league will be played this Saturday, March 2nd at Nomad Sports Club from 3pm – 8pm.

The JML PRFU 10s League kicked off with a bang this Saturday at Southern Plains, Eagles Nest. First up was the women’s division with a battle between the warrior princesses.  It was a tough start with both teams playing on pretty equal terms, with team Xena winning the first game by 24-20.  Team Athena put their foot down in the second game against Xena and ran away with a 22-5 victory.

The first men’s game showed that there are plenty of local talent in the youthful CRC team who defeated the Vipers 66-24. They displayed excellent ball skills and constantly created gaps in the opposition defence. The Vipers on the other hand were focused on their forwards and tried to play the game up the middle of the field, this style of play was not enough to best the fast feet and hands of the youthful CRC team.

The CBRE Juniors Touch Rugby Tournament was held last Saturday, January 26, 2013, at International School Manila field in Fort, Taguig City. The first juniors’ tournament of the year featured the participation of a total of 14 teams from various schools, clubs and foundations. A total of 24 matches were played by the children. About a 100 kids played under the scorching hot sun hoping to prove that they are the best juniors’ team in their age group. All teams are part of the PRFU Juniors Development Program.

Newly formed Australian International School Rugby team made its debut when they played in the Under 10s and Under 12s divisions. The new team managed to show everyone that they have the skills to compete against the more experienced teams like Clark Rugby Club and British School Manila. In the end they were able to score a few times against the veteran teams, making them a team to watch out in the future leagues.

Clark Rugby Club proved to be the team to beat when then they outclassed everyone in the under 8, 10, and 12 divisions, while the Tuloy Foundation dominated the under 14’s and under 16s division outpacing everyone and dominating their division. The other teams did not give CRC and Tuloy an easy fight. Bulacan Rugby Club and Childhope Foundation showed a lot of potential despite being the underdogs. All the matches were fairly close but in the end the veteran teams claimed victorious.

It was a good day of touch rugby. All the kids were enthusiastic despite the hot weather conditions and back to back games.

The tournament saw the u8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 teams compete in the Touch Rugby competition from 8.30am – 11.30am. The teams who participated were:

In 2011 the International School of Manila embarked on beefing up the Rugby Union program and under the leadership of Bill Brown this program has resulted in immediate results with the ISM teams winning all three of the 2013 MANSAC Schoolboys Divisions. ISM  led the way in 2011 by introducing a middle school program and this was quickly followed by both BSM and EIS which allowed the first middle school competition to take place in the 2012/13 schoolboys series. It was also fantastic to see the introduction of the Clark Rugby Club into the schoolboys’ series and the all Filipino club from Pampanga entered teams in the Middle School and Junior varsity divisions.

The 2013 MANSAC Schools tournament saw a record number of teams enter in the three divisions, Varsity, Junior Varsity and Middle School. These included Brent International School, Faith Academy, International School of Manila, European International School, British School Manila, and Clark Rugby Club. Teams from these schools played every Friday and Saturday from late November 2012 to the last weekend in January 2013 and cherished the opportunity to play competitive rugby union for their schools and clubs. 

Varsity
The competition in each division was intense with all teams winning games throughout the tournament and the occasional draw to throw a spanner in the works. It wasn't until the finals that ISM started to show their depth and strength when they ran out winners in the Varsity Boys final by 45 – 12 over Faith Academy. This ISM team will travel to Kuala Lumpur to now play in the ISAIS International Schoolboys regional finals and they will be very competitive coming of a successful season in the MANAC competition. The Varsity Final featured a host of players who played in the Philippine National u16s and u18s teams in 2012 and this set the platform for an exciting finals series.  Congratulations to the ISM Varsity Boys team and coaching staff for a stellar season and good luck in the IASIS schoolboy’s competition.

Junior Varsity
The Junior Varsity semi finals were the closest fought games of the finals with ISM winning a close semi final by defeating Faith Academy 25 – 12. The second semi final proved to be the  game of the day when Clark Rugby Club scored in the last minute to defeat BSM by 14 – 10. BSM had dominated much of the field position and led the game at halftime, it wasn’t until CRC received a penalty from a restart that they were able to show their fabulous attacking flair as they passed the ball from one side of the field to the other and put together eight attacking phases that eventually led to score the winning try. The Junior Varsity final was a one sided affair with the dominate ISM forwards controlling much of the match and it was obvious that the CRC were tiring from their hard fought semi final win. ISM claimed the Junior Varsity trophy by winning the final by 51 – 0.

Middle School
The Middle School boy’s finals witnessed EIS play ISM. Both these teams had faced off during the season and were very even entering the finals series. EIS had defeated BSM in their semi final by 45 – 7 and a strong ISM squad defeated CRC by 45 – 7. This set up a great showdown in the final. It was ISM who started the first half with a dominate display running in the first three tries and taking a 15 point lead. EIS then scored a try before the halftime break and showed glimpses of their attacking talent. ISM came out and closed the final out by 41 – 12 and claimed the schools third trophy for this year’s MANSAC schoolboys series.

The 2012/13 MANSAC Schoolboys Rugby 10s Competition has been one of the most successful in recent years and all the schoolboy teams are improving and numbers are increasing. This bodes well for the selection of the Philippine National u14; u16 and u19s teams for 2013 and all the schoolboy players will have an opportunity to trial for these teams in the second half of 2013.

A final word of thanks and appreciation must go to both ISM and BSM for allowing the tournament to be held at their rugby fields throughout the season. It was a great year of rugby for the all teams involved and the coaches and team managers must also be congratulated for the sportsmanship that was displayed throughout the tournament.

Looking forward to seeing everyone back again for the 2013/14 MANSAC schoolboy’s season and playing rugby in the CBRE Junior Leagues and hopefully Philippine National teams in 2013.

The PRFU were delighted to be invited to the 2012 Philippine National Games(PNG) by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee. The games were held at in Sta Cruz, Laguna and Governor  Jorge “ER” Ejercito Estregan was  extremely supportive to host the Rugby 7s event and showcase this Olympic sport to everyone at the newly renovated RECS Sports Stadium.

Eight Men’s teams and three women’s teams registered to compete for the inaugural Philippine National Games  Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.  The Men’s Division had the Eagles, Ibons, Bison/Tarsiers, Globe Immortals, MAAP Warriors, CBRE Vipers and Mavericks, Clark Rugby Club teams in competition, while  the Women  had Team Xena, MAAP Lady Warriors and  Nomads.

It was an early start with the PRFU supplying a bus for the participants to make the three hour journey south. The sun was shining and temperatures soared to the high thirties as the teams took the field to play Rugby 7s in the aim of winning positions for the upcoming SEA Games, which will be held in Myanmar in 2013.

Rugby 7s is an exciting sport and promotes action, speed, agility and teamwork and is a perfect sport for any young Filipino athletes who enjoy the challenge of playing a dynamic contact sport. The PRFU restricted participation to the PNG Rugby 7s tournament to Filipino Heritage players only.  It was exciting to see over 150 Filipino athletes take the field to compete to become the top Rugby 7s teams in the country.

The Men’s competition saw the teams do battle in a round robin format and then break into A and B Divisions for the finals. The Alabang Eagles were ranked the number one team entering the competition and they would have to face some formidable opponents in the top division. The semi finals were the Eagles against the newly formed CBRE Vipers, which the Eagles won to move through to the final.

In the other semi-final the young guns from Clark Rugby Club (CRC) who were all ex Bahay Bata orphanage players proved that size in Rugby 7s is not everything as they ran around their opponents displaying deft rugby skills and teamwork.  Displaying excellent teamwork, the 16 – 18 year old Foundation players defeated their bigger and older opponents, the Globe Immortals, to set up a David and Goliath encounter in the Men’s A Division Gold Medal game.

On this occasion, it was the Eagles who proved too strong for their younger counterparts and they won the inaugural PNG Final by 29 – 5. The Eagles thoroughly deserved this win and have written their names in the history books as the first Men’s team to win a PNG Gold Medal in Rugby 7s.

The Men’s B Division Final was played between the MAAP Warriors and the newly formed  Rugby 101 club the Bison-Tarsiers. It was a tribute to see the oldest Filipino Rugby Club, the MAAP Warriors play in this final, especially when they had travelled overnight all the way from Bataan.  The MAAP Warriors had shown glimpses of brilliance throughout the round games and stalwart coaches Rick Hartley and Tony Shibley worked with the players to tighten up the defense for the final. This tactic certainly worked as MAAP ran out winners by 22 – 5. It was a great victory for the Warriors and is a tribute to the pioneer Filipino Rugby Club that they won their first ever PNG medal.

The Women’s Final was the best game of the day. Both the Nomads and Team Xena sides had several National Team players and this proved to be the ingredient for an exciting and competitive final. Both sides were locked at 7 all at the final siren and it wasn’t until National team legend, Manila Santos, broke through the Nomads’ defense in extra time to score a runaway try from 60m out. The Golden Point gave Team Xena  the Women’s Division Gold Medal.

The PNG allowed the PRFU to showcase the growing sport of Rugby 7s and the Filipino athletes were extremely proud to compete to win National PSC medals. Rugby 7s is now played at the SEA, Asian and Olympic Games, and the PSC are looking to build further Rugby 7s programs to claim medals at these events.

The PRFU would like to thank the Philippine Sports Commission for the inviting Rugby 7s to be a sport at the 2012 Philippine National Games and Governor  Jeorge  “ER”  Ejercito Estregan for hosting the tournament at the world class RECS Sports Stadium in Sta Cruz Laguna.

Both PSC Commissioner, Jolly Gomez (PSC Commissioner) and Governor ER attended the PNG awards ceremony and were delighted at the level of skill, participation and sportsmanship displayed by all the Filipino teams that played in the 2012 Rugby 7s Philippine National Games tournament.

Official PNG results that are registered with the Philippine Sports Commission for 2012:

Photo gallery (all photos on this page by Michael Fernandez)

The PRFU is happy to announce announce that the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) have invited the PRFU to enter Rugby 7s as an official sport in the 2012 Philippine National Games.

The Philippine National Games is an annual sports competition run by the POC & PSC as one of the qualifying competitions for selection in the upcoming South East Asian Games which will take place in Myanmar in 2013.  

National Sporting Associations were invited to host National League Competitions from May – June 2012 in PSC-sanctioned venues. The main section of the National Games (18 sports) were held in Dumaguete from May 26-June 2, while the remaining sports will host their National Games at either Rizal National Stadium, RECS Stadium in Sta. Cruz, Laguna and other venues throughout the country.

The PRFU will host Rugby 7’s at the RECS Stadium in Laguna on Saturday, June 23 which will be the first time that Rugby Union will participate in the Philippine National Games. The PRFU have invited Filipino Heritage players from all PRFU clubs to participate in the event and will focus on promoting teams and players who can ultimately vie for positions in the National Rugby 7s teams which will compete at the SEA , Asian Games and 2016 Olympics. The PRFU have also invited the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to also attend the one day competition in Sta Cruz as the PRFU look to start new development programs with the military in 2012.

Among the teams that have confirmed participation are the Globe Immortals, Raging Bison, Tarsiers, Mavericks, Manila Vipers, Eagles, Maritime Academy of Asia Pacific (MAAP) and Team Xena. Members of the Philippine Volcanoes National Rugby team will also be on hand to lend their support to this event.

For more information on the Philippine National Games, visit: http://png.psc.gov.ph/ 

The Nomads proved again that they are the number one 15s Rugby team in the Philippines with an emphatic 30-10 win over the Alabang Eagles in the JML  15s Final last June 9. The Nomads forward pack took full control of the game from the kick off and set the scene when they went straight into the pick drive patterns and constantly challenged the Eagles to try and stop their aggressive rolling mauls. The Eagles defense was certainly more organized than the last time the two teams met and they tried to challenge their bigger Nomads counterparts at the edge of the mauls and rucks, but had little effect on the machine-like attack that Dave Feeney and his forwards displayed. The Nomads did not make a mistake in the forwards in the first half and this eventually led to Man of the Match, Chris Anderson scoring the first two tries of the game both in similar style coming from rolling mauls and strong forward play.

Nomads coach Phil “Stinger” Gittus proved once again that good old fashioned 10-man Rugby can win in 15s rugby and he had obviously drilled the Nomads forwards in the finer arts of tight play. His English upbringing and coaching style dominated the Nomads play, with the ball rarely thrown to the backline and the Nomads forwards enjoying the opportunity to play up the middle of the field.

The Eagles regrouped at halftime and turned the Nomads around at the second half with some tactical kicks from flyhalf Rupert Zappia which led to two penalties being awarded to the Eagles at 21 – 0 down. The Eagles decided to try and place some much needed points on the board. Unfortunately young Tim Smith who had kicked 10 penalties against the Cebu Dragons last week missed both attempts and the Eagles were left empty handed. Some pundits thought they should have taken the game to the Nomads and gone for the tries instead of the Penalty shots

It wasn’t until late in the second half that the Eagles crossed the Nomads line with a try which they were able to convert ; but this was all too late as the Nomads scored two more tries to take out the JML 15s Championship by 30 -10.

Chris Anderson from Nomads was named Man of the Match and Chris Hettel won the JML Award which was donated and presented by Steve Payne from JML.

Maverick Vipers Win the Bowl Final to claim top spot at Rugby 101

The Maverick Vipers were totally focused on winning their debut final in the JML 15s Bowl Division and came out firing on all cylinders as they scored in the first minute of the game through some sharp work from their two underage International players, Dan O’Reilly and AJ Brown, who combined in the backline to set up several attacking raids into the Bison Tarsiers territory. The Bison Tarsiers struggled to gain possession and the Maverick Vipers seemed to run at will, led by their Captain, Ulysses Veloso the MV’s were relentless in attack and scored a comprehensive six try to one victory.

The Bison Tarsiers scored a late try in the game to spoil the Maverick Vipers hope taking out the final without allowing their opponents to score against them, but this was too little too late with the Maverick Vipers dominating all aspects play and running out the Bowl champions winners by 45 – 7.

Carabaos Defeat Hapons in Plate Final

The Carabaos took out the Plate Final defeating the Manila Hapons by 49 – 17. The Carabaos were at full strength and took advantage of their strong bench, whilst the Hapons had to call on some players to help fill the ranks before kick off. Te Hapons upset their more fancied rivals when they scored a length of the field try, which started from behind their own line and ended with Keiichi Utaka scoring after the ball went through several sets of hands.

The Carabaos realized that the Hapons were going to play running rugby and closed things down with some aggressive forward play that led to the next two tries. The Hapons hit back and scored again before halftime and the game remained close leading into the break at 21 – 17.

It was all one way traffic during the second half and the Carabaos started to rotate their bench whilst the Hapons were starting to tire which allowed the Carabaos to score four tries second half tries and win the Plate final by 49 – 17.

Cup MVP – Chris Anderson
JML Cup Award – Chris Hettel

Plate MVP – Romani Peyrelouse
JML Plate Award – Fred Marcerou

Bowl MVP – Mark Bulacan
JML Award – AJ Brown

The next round of games will be played at the Philippine National Games at the RECS stadium in Sta Cruz Laguna on Saturday June 23rd. This will be an all day event with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals being presented by the PSC to the winning teams.

The Alabang Eagles travelled to Cebu this past weekend to support the Women’s International match and play their Cup round against the Cebu Dragons. The Eagles who were coming off a loss to Nomads, had to defeat the Dragons in order to cement a place in the JML 15s League finals.

The Cebu Dragons had a positive start to the game and pressured the Eagles from the kick off, this resulted in the Eagles giving away a simple penalty in front of the posts and Jerry Branzuela stepped to slot the Dragons first points. Unfortunately this would be the last points the Dragons would score until late in

the game as the Alabang Eagles took full control of the game and piled on 90 unanswered points to send a strong signal to the Nomads that the Eagles are ready for the JML 15s Finals. The speedy Eagles backline were in dominant form as they piled on 14 tries and seemed to run at will with Captain Tim Bweheni consistently making inroads into the Dragons defence. Young gun Tim Smith who played for the Philippine National u16s last year converted 13 shots to rake up 26 solo points and is a bright star for future National underage teams.

Under coach and player Dan Moutin, the Eagles forwards played with more discipline and Veve Apolosa was hard to stop as he charged into the Dragons forwards and also made several blockbusting tackles to create turnovers. 

The Dragons tried to combat the Eagles onslaught but were unable to keep possession for more than three phases and struggled in the set pieces as the Eagles larger forwards applied constant pressure at every scrum and lineout.

Dragons Captains Noel Flowers and Jerry Branzuela kept rallying the Dragons players to fight until the end and newcomer backs Dean Bates and Tony Tualo from New Zealand showed signs that the Dragons can rebuild from this loss in their first outing in Cebu. The Dragons Captains frustration boiled over and both players were out on their feet by the end of the game.

The Final score was Eagles 90 Cebu Dragons 8 and the Eagles will now meet the Manila Nomads in the JML 15s Cup Finals to be played at the Eagles new home field in Silangan next Saturday June 9th. The finals will feature the three Men’s divisions, Cup, Plate and Bowl.  The Women’s Division will rest as they prepare to play in the Asian Women’s Division 2 Championships against Laos, Singapore and Thailand in Manila on June 14 and 16th.