Canlubang, Laguna—Fil-British bet Robin Fogerty completed his debut with a bang.
The 22-year-old Fogerty, who came all the way from England to join the national team, led the Philippine Volcanoes to a 38-12 smashing of Singapore on Tuesday afternoon at the Southern Plains Field in Canlubang, Laguna.
Fogerty showed what he can do on a wet and slightly muddy turf when he struck with 19 points after scoring five penalty shots and two conversions to carry the Volcanoes to their first Asian Rugby 15s Division 1 Championship in six years.
“It’s quite emotional for me,” said Fogerty, who used to represent England in the English Counties Under-20 team back in London.
Singapore got off to a good start by scoring first on a try from Matthew Humphries, 5-0, in the 59-second mark.
Stephen Howorth equalized at 5-all with his own try for the Volcanoes at 3:26.
“We did not know what the conditions are. But it was still good weather. We were able to execute our game play,” said general manager Jake Letts at the end of a finals’ series supported by Herbalife.
The Volcanoes, who have 11 new players in their roster, finished the finals’ series at 2-0 after bringing down the Volcanoes, 32-24, in Game 1, which ended in a brawl.
Fogerty, a student of Strength and Conditioning Science at St. Mary’s University, scored thrice in a row, following an attack on the left side.
He drove in to the left at 4:12 and then sank his penalties at 9:59 and at the 27:21 mark to hand the Volcanoes a 13-5 edge.
It was not over yet for Singapore, which rallied off runs coming from Peter McFeely and Ishraff Marah as it threatened at 12-13 in the 35th minute.
But the Volcanoes moved away behind Justine Coveney’s try in the 37th minute of the first half, handing the team an 18-12 edge. Peter Atencio
In the second half, Fogerty pulled the Volcanoes further ahead, 21-12, with his penalty shot from 15 meters.