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PH Volcanoes eye World Cup repeat

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Photos by Raymond Braganza/PRFU
 

AFTER getting a taste of playing in the Rugby World Cup four years ago the Philippine Volcanoes are hungry for a repeat.

Why not when getting there the first time was virtually an unimaginable feat. It was the first time in 50 plus years a Philippine national team had progressed through the qualifier rounds to earn their right on the biggest stage. This was in 2013, the challenge now, can the Volcanoes repeat these efforts and qualify for the 2018 Rugby Sevens World Cup?

According to the qualification rules, only two teams from Asia will earn a position in the prestigious event. The World Cup is held every four years, (although it would have been five years since the last event) due to the fact Rugby 7s has now been re included as an Olympic sport.

The international federation, known as World Rugby, chose to cater to the Olympic calendar years. This decision allows both the Rugby World Cup and the Olympics to act as world championship events, held evenly, every two years.

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Vincent Amar Young leads the team practice in preparation for the ambitious quest to repeat playing in the 2018 Rugby Sevens World Cup.

The next Rugby Sevens World Cup will be held in San Francisco, USA, from July 20 to 22, 2018.

The Volcanoes, backed by Globe Telecom started their journey Friday, Sept.1, 2017 in Hong Kong for the first round of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series at Kings Park

The Asia Sevens Series will be held across three legs. Round 1 was held September 1 and 2 in King’s Park, Hong Kong. The qualification process continues into Round 2 which will be held in Korea on September 23 and 24, 2017. The process concludes with Round 3 in Sri Lanka on October 14 and 15 2017.

The Volcanoes have a new look team, a mix of Filipino youth, Philippine resident players and most evidently, experienced campaigners.

“I think we will surprise a lot of countries. We have a lot of new and exciting players that will only get better with experience. We definitely have the talent to be serious competitors in this year’s Asian series” said Sean Celada Lynch, the only remaining member in this team from the 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup team.

Lynch’s family hails from Borongan City, Eastern Samar. His teammate Danny Bembo Matthews has been named Captain. Matthews has family ties from Alaminos, Pangasinan. Matthews led the team in Qatar last February where he was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, guiding the Volcanoes to a Gold medal performance.

 Edlen Cortez Hernandez

“We expect a high level of rugby. In February it was great to see our combinations come together. Teams will be strong here in Hong Kong. To qualify for the World Cup we have to beat the best in Asia so we can compete against the world’s best. We are up to the challenge” said Matthews.

The Volcanoes are seeded in Pool A against home town favorites Hong Kong, China and Malaysia.

After day one, the teams were re-seeded based on results. The second day consists of a cross over to play Pool B participants Japan, Korea, Taipei and Sri Lanka in the playoff finals. Japan finished 4th in the Olympic Games and are tipped to be hot favorites in Hong Kong.

The 2017 Asia Sevens Series will be held across three legs, with Round 2 in Korea on September 23 and 24 and Round 3 in Sri Lanka on October 14 and 15. The team is coached by former New Zealand All Black Frano Botica.

Venue of the first qualifiers is Kings Park, Hong Kong.

The 2017 Asia Rugby Sevens Series players include Edlen Cortez Hernandez, Gregory Waki Golman, Nicholas Molitor, Jackson Junior Pato, Matthews, Tommy Kalaw Gilbert, Lynch, Christopher Arpon Bird, Timothy Bweheni, Joe Palabay Dawson, Ned Plarizan Stephenson and Vincent Amar Young

Although relatively new in the Philippines, Rugby is a contact team sport which originated in England way back in the first half of the 19th century. It involves running with an oval-shaped ball in hand from one end of a rectangular field, with H-shaped goalposts on each try line, to the other.

International matches have taken place since 1872. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place every four years. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are other major international competitions, held annually.

The sport is played by male and female players of all ages. In 2014 there were more than six million people playing worldwide with 2.36 million registered players.

World Rugby with the International Rugby Board (IRB) has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886 and currently has 101 countries as full members and 18 associate members.

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