LAGUNA—Under wet conditions, the disciplined Manila Nomads beat the previously undefeated Eagles RFC for the first time in three years. The Manila Nomads caused the biggest upset in the 2017 SPI 15s League, running away with the Premiership 32 points to 29 at Southern Plains.
The Nomads asserted their dominance from the first whistle, capitalizing from an Eagles mistake. Nomad David Bogul plowed over early using the dominance of their forward pack. Not long after, the visitors found themselves within the attacking zone scoring another five points through Jason Chappell. Chappell reaped the awards after a dominant line out making it 12 points to nothing after five minutes.
The Eagles saga continued, ill-discipline costing the heavy favorites. A red card to flyhalf Jackson Pato who would no longer return to play for the entire game and a yellow card to Eagles captain Timothy Bweheni. The Eagles found themselves two men down only nine minutes into the first half. After a slight delay due thunderstorms the Nomads picked up where they left off scoring down the left flank through Davoud Bastable. The Nomads set themselves a solid foundation after 15 minutes leading 17 points to nil.
Gregory Golman shed light for the Eagles breaking through in the 23rd minute scoring for the Eagles and converting his own try. It wasn’t long however for the Nomads to regain their dominance scoring in the 36th minute to make it 22-7 at the half.
In the second half the Eagles looked to make an early comeback with Francis Tagalia scoring early. Philippine Volcano Jake Letts brought more hope to the Eagles breaking the line however desperate defense from the Nomads kept the Eagles out. JK Talon kept the Eagles alive scoring back-to-back points for Eagles making it 25 to 17 in the 65th minute.
Nomad Mike Yu looked to put the game out of reach capitalizing off a driving maul scoring and making it 32 to 17 with 8 minutes remaining. Eagles made a valiant effort to close down the gap to three points with tries both to Letts and Tagalia scoring in the dying seconds.
“It was a very tough game in miserable conditions. Stopping halfway for the lightning storm didn’t help anyone, but great to see some attacking play from both sides and it was a close high scoring game in the end. We’ve been building all season especially since we lost our home ground last year. We’ve also been recruiting and training hard, especially on fitness and strength, so we are delighted with our performance today” shared Nomads captain, James Salter-Duke“
In the Premiership Plate final the Santos Knight Frank Mavericks comfortably beat the Alabang Ibons 23-5. The Mavericks finishing the season in third place. In the Women’s division, a development series saw NDT Green overcome the NDT Reds 30 to 24.
Santos Knight Frank Mavericks awarded for the Plate Premiership defeating the HMR Ibons 23 to 5.
“It’s been a remarkable season for the SPI 15s, an upset in the final shows how hard work can pay off. Congratulations to the Nomads, they were deserved winners on the day. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Seapac Philippines as the Headline Sponsor also, they have been outstanding supporters of this event” shared Jovan Masalunga, Competition and Rugby Development Manager for the SPI 15s.