The Philippine Lady Volcanoes are joining the Tokyo 2020 Regional Olympic Qualifying Tournament this weekend.
The national women’s rugby will be in Guangzhou, China to be in games which will also serve as their final preparation for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
They will be up against two other neighboring countries, Singapore and Thailand.
The two will send teams to also prepare for the SEA Games.
Philippine Rugby Football Union General Manager Jake Letts said this will give the Philippines “a training ground moving forward with the top teams in Asia.”
“After a successful Trophy Series Gold Medal in August, the result has propelled the Philippines to the Top 8 in Asia, where they haven’t played since 2014,” said Letts in a statement.
Lett’s added that after a second place finish in the Trophy Series in 2018, the progression to a gold medal in 2019 was the next move in the right direction.
The Volcanoes are seeded in Pool B alongside Kazakstan, Thailand and Singapore.
Pool A will have China, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Korea.
The team that wins the tournament joins Japan in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The runner up will move to the next round of Olympic Qualifications early next year.
