Philippine Lady Volcanoes 7th overall in Rugby 7s

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Lady Volcanoes capped their stint in the Borneo Sevens by copping the Bowl diadem Sunday at Eagles Rugby Club Stadium in Sandakan, Malaysia.

The Filipinas, who are opening their buildup for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, beat Singapore HPD in the Bowl final, 45-0, to finish seventh overall in the tournament ruled by heavy favorite Nagato Blues of Japan.

Nagato clobbered Australian side Southern District in the Cup final, 39-0, to complete its undefeated run to the women’s championship.

Phl logged two victories and four losses in the two-day competition with their only other win also coming at the expense of the Singaporeans in the group stage. 

The Pinay ruggers outclassed Singapore in their first encounter in Group A, 36-5, to bounce back from earlier setbacks to Hong Kong Dragons (0-34) and Pearls Japan (0-42) and place third in the bracket. They then lost to the Aussies in the quarterfinals, 5-36.  

Phl’s SEAG rivals Malaysia actually finished higher as it won the Plate (equivalent to fifth) at the expense of Sabah Eagles, 24-12.

The Lady Volcanoes have lined up an intensive preparation for the SEAG in an effort to get a podium finish again. After Borneo, Phl 7s is set to compete in Trophy Series in Indonesia.

The men’s team Volcanoes, who are eyeing the SEAG gold, didn’t participate in the Borneo Sevens and instead had a nine-day high-performance camp at home. The Volcanoes will see action in next month’s World Rugby Sevens Series Qualifiers, where they’re up against Hong Kong, Tonga and Zimbabwe in pool play.