Volcanoes get kudos from IRB

The Philippine Rugby Football Union Volcanoes were given prominent mention in the International Rugby Board (IRB) website for their accomplishments in 2012. In just six years, the Nationals climbed from virtual non-existence to the elite level and a slot in the Rugby Sevens World Cup.

“Mexico, Pakistan and the Philippines entered the rankings in March, with Mauritius, American Samoa, the United Arab Emirates and Greece – the last two as the two newest IRB Full Member Unions – following in December,” says a post on the IRB site.

In 2011, the Philippine women’s team the Lady Volcanoes received the country’s first-ever invitation to the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens. They were pitted against more experienced teams with players almost twice their size, but managed to win one of their matches. The Filipinas also became the darlings of the tournament, getting a lot of attention from the foreign press (and the men’s teams).

In 2012, it was the men’s turn to be invited in another breakthrough development. The team was even featured in international sports channels, and despite their mixed heritage, team captain Jake Letts stressed how playing for their mothers’ and grandparents’ country meant so much to them. As beginners in the tournament, they were unranked and relegated to the bottom by default, but competed valiantly.

The only blot on the Hong Kong campaign was an unfunny attempt at humor by someone at Fiji Rugby. A post online commented that the only thing Filipino about the team was its name, an obvious racial snipe. The timing was simply bad, since just the week before, the Azkals had gone through their own racist issue. Thus, the comment brought thousands of complaints of angry Filipinos to Fiji Rugby’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, causing both to post repeated apologies. The issue took days to die down.

The two brightest spots for Philippine Rugby came in each half of the last year. In April, the country hosted its first international matches in the HSBC Asian Five Nations (A5N) Division 1 tournament at a repaired pitch at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. It was also the first time a rugby event was covered locally (by ABS-CBN) as well as internationally by ESPN. It also inaugurated the new round-robin format, which assured more matches. Previously, the top team played the bottom, the two middle teams squared off, and the winners faced each other for the trophy.

The country hosted Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei and Singapore. Winning the A5N would propel the Philippines into the Elite Division and catapult the team into the top five in the region. But it would not be easy. Sri Lanka was a tough contender which happened to be in transition with a new coach. Chinese Taipei was somewhat unpredictable. Singapore, which had just been promoted to Division 1, fielded a team of college students who would eventually get a beating.

As expected, the Philippine manhandled Singapore, 37-20. At least seven times, the tournament’s medical team ran out onto the field to attend to a fallen Singapore player. The Volcanoes wanted to make a statement, as Sri Lanka had previously demolished Chinese Taipei, 36-8. The Philippines and Sri Lanka swapped opponents and won their second matches, as well, with winning margins of more than 20 points apiece.

In the final match, the Volcanoes got off to a good start, but had trouble against the sheer physicality and size of the Sri Lankan backs. Late in the match, the visitors regrouped and tried to catch up, but the Nationals held them off, sealing the tournament, 28-18. Once more, the Volcanoes stormed into the stands to hug their mothers and loved ones, a very rare sight in international rugby. 

But the Filipinos were not yet done. In November, the Volcanoes traveled to Singapore for the HSBC Asian Sevens Series. The top three teams would qualify for Rugby Sevens World Cup, and it was going to be tough, as Asia’s top team Japan was in the running. Hong Kong and South Korea, which had also given the Philippine problems the past few years, were the other contenders.

The Volcanoes got a confidence-boosting win by blanking Guam, 33-0. They then dropped a match to Hong Kong, 29-12. A pivotal 14-7 win over China put them back on track, and they had two chances to jump into the World Cup. Japan squelched their shot at the finals, 17-7, but the Asian champions admitted it was their toughest match of the series. That left the Philippines in the battle for third and a must-win scenario against perennial rival South Korea.

In a tough grind, the Philippines carved out a 17-7 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Koreans came back. The Volcanoes held their ground, though, and slipped into third place and the World Cup, 22-19. The accomplishment did not go unnoticed as the IRB summed up the accomplishments of its top teams and newcomers to the world rankings.

“Of these seven nations, the Philippines are the ones to have left their mark, ending the year 15 places higher than they entered the rankings after winning the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division 1 title on home soil in April to earn their place alongside the continent’s elite in 2013,” the IRB website said.

The Volcanoes are now preparing for their battles against elite teams in the world, and are opening up to more sponsors to support their international travels. The next two years will mean more history-making to the youngest national sports association from the Philippines to groom a world-ranked contender.