Aussie indigenous rugby team vies in Manila 10s

MANILA, Philippines - An Australian development team joins the hunt in the Manila 10s International Rugby Festival which kicks off this weekend at the Nomad Sports Club, Merville Park Subdivision in Parañaque City.

The Aussie team’s stint is expected to further toughen up competition in the 23rd staging of the annual event with the guest squad composed of players from its indigenous communities.

The event is sponsored by Australian mining firm Xstrata Copper, major shareholder of Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI).

Xstrata supports the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team (LMRDT) and the Australian Rugby Union in promoting the sport among young Australian men and women of indigenous background.

Its members come from a variety of indigenous communities from all around Australia, which finished third in the Rugby World Cup 2011 to eventual champion New Zealand in the semifinals.

The Manila 10s attracted 32 teams last year, including three Aussie squads with the Philippines fielding the most number of teams with 11.

Hong Kong had the biggest foreign contingent with six teams with the Welsh Warriors of the United Kingdom winning the Cup Division.

Meanwhile, the SMI Team and LMRDT will conduct a coaching session and rugby clinic today for the underprivileged children of Tuloy Foundation, which is also supported by the Philippine Rugby Football Union. It will be held at the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Street children Village at the Alabang-Zapote Road cor. San Jose Village in Alabang, Muntinlupa.

Like the LMRDT and the Tuloy Foundation, part of SMI and Xstrata’s corporate social involvement is supporting the development of the youth within communities through various programs especially in the field of sports.

Xstrata is pleased to support this team on its first visit to the Philippines and SMI will be their official host in their stay in Manila, SMI said in a statement.

Xstrata Copper is a global mining company which works in a number of locations around the world where there are communities of indigenous people. SMI is the proponent of the $6-billion Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in Mindanao.