MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Under-19 Junior Volcanoes displayed their explosive form in a recent showdown with rivals from powerhouse Hong Kong, giving the Philippine Rugby Football Union reasons to feel excited about the future.
The Junior Volcanoes crushed Hong Kong, 49-0, to lift the 2015 First Pacific Cup and end 2015 with a bang.
Waxing hot on a stormy and wet day, the Junior Volcanoes racked up six unanswered tries in the first half to set the tone for the rout against the HK Junior Warriors in the year-ending tourney.
Team captains Robert Villaluz McCafferty and Rhys Jacob Mackley carried the cudgels for the Junior Volcanoes together with outside back Dan O’Rielly. Hamish Roxas McWilliam also secured a hat trick of tries.
“The U19s national team is a platform for our next batch of future Volcanoes. This program helps develop and identify the next generation of elite athletes and provides a pathway so our men’s national team can continue to be successful on the world stage,” said assistant coach and current Philippine Volcano Jake Letts.
McCafferty, in particular, has caught the eyes of the coaching staff as potential new addition to the men’s squad.
“Robbie McCafferty had a great series, he showed real maturity at this level and is no doubt pushing for selection in the National Men’s Squad,” said Letts.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Developmental Team couldn’t sustain the momentum from its opening-game victory and suffered a blow in the second match. The Transcom Shield dropped a 0-13 loss to the Hong Kong Senior Warriors as the series ended 1-1.
The Junior Volcanoes’ feat capped a year of mixed results for the PRFU. The Volcanoes captured the gold in the Singapore Southeast Asian Games while the Lady Volcanoes took the bronze. The Volcanoes 7s, however, fell short in their bid to qualify for the Rio Olympics after getting eliminated in the Asian Qualifying Tourney.