More than 200 players participated in the Manila World Cup (MWC) held on a drizzling Saturday afternoon at the Nomad Sports Club, Paranaque.

The tournament, held last Oct. 20 served not only as a celebration of the 2007 Rugby World Cup being played in France but also as a prelude to the World Cup Finals game held the next day - 3am Philippine time.

The tournament showcased six teams who played Rugby Football for the men’s division. The teams were team Australia, Barbarians, France, Japan, Pacific, and team Philippines.  Team Barbarians was composed of players from all over the world such as US, Kenya and Europe; while Pacific was composed of players from New Zealand and Fiji.

Likewise, there were six teams who played Touch Football (Touch Rugby) for the women’s division. The teams were Australia, Commonwealth, France, Japan, Philippines Red, and Philippines Blue.

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Unlike other tournaments, participating players were initially grouped according to nationality; however, this was not strictly enforced due to lack of players in other teams such as Australia and France in the women’s competition which borrowed some players from the Philippines.

Games started after lunch and ended around 7:30pm with team Pacific superior in the men’s division and teams Australia and Barbarians in second and third place respectively.

On the other hand, for the women’s division, team Australia was declared champion with teams France and Commonwealth on second and third place.

Other than these, there was also the Best and Fairest Award handed out to the player with the most number of votes garnered from team captains after each game.  Recipients were Sean Gorget from team Barbarians and Pia Medrano from Philippines Blue.