Phl Volcanoes hope for strong A5N finish

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Volcanoes hope to come up with an explosive windup to their campaign in the 2014 Asian 5 Nations (A5N) tournament, seeking crucial victories against Sri Lanka on the road and Korea at home in a bid to stay in the Premier division of Asia’s elite rugby tournament next year.

The Volcanoes take on the Sri Lankans on May 17 at Race Course Rugby Grounds in Colombo then host the Koreans at the new Southern Plains facility in Laguna a week later, hoping to offset earlier losses to powerhouse nations Japan and Hong Kong.

“To stay in the top (division) we need to win both our last two games,” said Phl captain Oliver Saunders during yesterday’s presscon in Pasay City.

The Phl needs to finish in the Top 3 this year to join the new cast of three nations in the premier level in 2015. A lower finish will relegate the Volcanoes to division one, which will have four nations next year. 

Virtual newbies in the elite division, the Volcanoes got a rude welcome from the traditional powers with Hong Kong handing them a 108-nil spanking in Hong Kong, and champions Japan giving the Pinoys a 99-10 beating.

The team, however, saw a lot of positives from the first two setbacks that they can bring to the second half of the A5N. The Volcanoes even led Japan, 10-7, before the Japanese machine went to work, plus the 10 points scored against the reigning champs, who only surrendered a total of eight points to all their opponents last year.

“There’s always gonna be a mismatch against Japan and Hong Kong considering the fund they infuse on their teams and the full time pros they have,” said coach Stu Woodhouse.

“From a game perspective, there’s a lot of stuff we learned. It’s now more about effectively fixing the areas (of concern  we identified) and getting better as a collective group..Seeing vast improvement from the first to the very last game, that’s our objective, “ he added.

For the Sri Lanka outing, the Volcanoes will welcome the return of five veterans led by former captain Michael Letts, Chrivolcanos Hitch, Michael Duhig, and Phil Abraham. 

The A5N campaign also jumpstarts the Volcanoes’ buildup for the rugby sevens competitions in the Asian Games in Incheon, where they target a podium finish.

“We’re confident we can win a medal in the Asian Games,” said Philippine Rugby Football Union director Matt Cullen, banking on the No. 3 ranking of the Volcanoes’ sevens team in Asia and their qualification in the Rugby Sevens World Cup.

The Asiad will also stake berths to the 2016 Olympics to the finalists and PRFU has sets its eyes on these.

“Last year, we’re ranked No. 3 in Asia and went to the World Cup so it’s one step close. One lucky bounce and we might get second and go to the Olympics,” said Cullen.

A 30-man pool has been assembled for this mission. The aspirants will have two training camps for a total of 12 weeks, highlighted by test matches and participation in the Asian 7s series, prior to the September Asiad.