Phl Volcanoes claim silver in Asian Rugby 7s

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines bucked overwhelming odds and stunned China in the semifinals to capture the silver medal in the 2011 Asian Men’s Rugby 7s Championships in Borneo recently.

The Volcanoes humbled the Chinese, 19-14, in extra time in the semis but fell short of their title bid against the Japanese, settling for the silver medal that sparkled like gold for the overachieving Filipinos.

The feat thus guaranteed the Philippines of a spot in the 2012 Hong Kong Rugby 7s in March.

The Philippines, ranked No. 7 in Asia, bested Southeast Asian rival Malaysia, 28-14, in their turf with Justin Coveney and Matt Saunders anchoring the victory that set up the Volcanoes against the Chinese.

Before the match, the Chinese have dominated the Volcanoes four times in Rugby 7s, winning in the Asian Championships in 2010 and 2011.

But the Filipinos came armed to the teeth and matched their rivals’ speed with Luke Matthews gaining a spot in the starting roster to add some pace to the outside backs.

The ploy clicked as Matthews scored the first try for the Philippines. The Chinese countered with two first half tries and went ahead, 14-7, at halftime.

The Chinese kept the initiative until Chris Hitch broke through their defense to score the equalizer just before fulltime. The game finished in a 14-all draw and the quarter final entered extra time with a golden point rule to win.

But the Philippines looked confident heading into the overtime period with Harry Morris managing to break away and score a try under the posts to secure a remarkable win and put the Volcanoes in their first ever Cup Final at the Asian Championships.

The Asian Men’s Championships is played by the top 12 Rugby Nations in Asia and can be aligned with playing in the Asian Games. It was a remarkable feat by the Philippines to make the Cup Final, beating Kazakhstan, UAE, Malaysia and China.

But Japan, the no. 1 team in the region, proved tough and foiled the Philippines’ title bid.

 Philippines coach Matt Cullen said that “this is only the beginning of winning Filipino Rugby teams in this kind of top level tournaments.