The Philippine Junior Volcanoes fought their way to a 33-19 triumph over China for a third-place finish last Friday in the 2018 U19 Division 1 Asia Rugby Championships at the Bang-Bon Stadium in Bangkok.
The Filipinos shattered a 14-all halftime deadlock early following a brilliant set piece that saw Dean Beeton getting a perfectly passed long ball from Matthew Davie as he found the corner as the Philippines took the lead for the first time after 40 minutes of play with his attack.
Beeton’s heroics gave them a sizeable 24-14 edge, which they tried to hold on till the end.
In the 47th-minute, the Junior Volcanoes struck again with a conversion by Owen Wakeham as the Philippines extended its lead to 26 to 14.
Philippine Rugby Football Union General Manager Jake Letts said it was their best result in the last five years.
“It was a spirited comeback in the first half, they showed patience and composure. It’s never easy coming back from two tries down. However, credit to the team, they held strong for the first 35 minutes,” said Jake Letts.
China took a 14-0 lead in the first 18 minutes of the first half.
After that, the Philippines rallied through the attacks of James Ryan and Wakeham, who scored twice to tie the count, 14-all, in the 29:54 mark.
As the Junior Volcanoes ended their international calendar with another successful campaign, they are looking towards another big 2019 season, according to Letts, who added that with the Rugby Sevens in the Southeast Asian Games, earning qualification into the World Series Qualifiers in Hong Kong in April and Olympic Qualifications in November is next.
“The Volcanoes look to set for another competitive calendar for 2019,” said Letts.”‹