The Philippines National Men’s Rugby Team has just returned from an intensive training camp that took place at the Word of Life Camp which is based on the slopes of Mt. Makiling, Los Banos, Laguna.  The National Team assembled on Saturday, 22 June and traveled down to the training camp on Wednesday, 26 June 2008.

Filipino players traveled from all parts of the world to join the local based players at the National training camp.  The camp began with intensive physical assessments and all players were pushed to their limits in the tests that included the mile run, beep test (endurance), 100m sprints (speed), push up and sit up tests (strength/power) and obstacle courses (agility).

The first day at camp saw the team work at physical fitness, skills and team bonding.  The culminating activity of the day involved the team testing their physical and mental abilities on the ropes confidence course, where players had to work together to navigate the course at heights of up to 20 feet in harnesses supported by their team mates below.

The second day of the camp involved team moves, plays and patterns of offence and defense.  This year the forward pack is being led by Romain Barberis who has led the Filipino Volcanoes for the last two years to consecutive victories over Guam.  The back will be lead by Michael Letts who will also assume the Captaining duties and also led the Philippines National 7’s team to win the Silver Medal at the last Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

Eleven of the thirteen players from the Silver Medal winning team from the Southeast Asian Games have returned to play in the Asian Five Nations Tournament in Guam.  This year, the team’s preparation has been boosted by the quality time spent at the National Team training camp in Laguna.  The coach, Matt Cullen has stated “this year’s National Men’s Rugby Union Team is the strongest team to play in the Asian Championship and should account for both Brunei and Guam at the Division III Asian Championships in Guam in July".