Tuesday 6th September, 2011(Source: Manila Bulletin)
MANILA, Philippines -- Recent talks of sports success have added to the nation’s craving for more of such grandeur. The Gilas basketball team’s prospects are good, the Azkals have popularized their sport in a blink of an eye and Manny Pacquiao remains to be the king inside the boxing ring.
One sport that floats under the radar in terms of the public’s attention and support, but has earned as many achievements, is Philippine rugby. Dominated mostly by western countries, the sport's popularity is picking up among Asian countries and has been brought to Filipino consciousness through the success of our national team known as the Philippine Volcanoes.
Since the program’s inception in 2006, Philippine rugby has experienced an emergence and has been catapulted from the region’s Division 5 tournaments all the way to Division 1, a step away from earning the distinction of being one of the top five teams in Asia. “People thought a lot about the Azkals but the real success in Philippine sport, aside from a boxer named Manny Pacquiao, is actually Philippine rugby,” said Philippine Rugby Football Union secretary-general Rick Santos.
Still high in the wake of their success in the recently concluded Asian 5 Nations Division 1 tournament held in Korea, The Philippine Volcanoes are out to win more glory for the country through more international competitions. During the tournament, the Volcanoes held their own narrowly losing to world 32nd ranked Korea and decimating Southeast Asian counterpart Malaysia with a score of 86-20.
The team is currently competing at the first leg of the Asian Men’s 7s Championships in Shanghai, China which will be followed by the second leg in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The Volcanoes hope to land one of the top six spots among 12 countries in order to qualify for the prestigious international Hong Kong 7s tournament next March.
“To get to where we are in four years is an amazing accomplishment and we hope to keep things running. Our vision is to climb up the ladder every year. If we can finish good next year then we have a chance at qualifying for the world cup in 2015,” Jake Letts, captain of the Philippine Volcanoes team competing in Shanghai expressed.
Along with Letts in Shanghai is a score of Fil-foreign players which includes Christopher Hitch, Justin Coveney, Oliver Saunders, Ruppert Zappia, Christopher Everingham, Kenneth Stern, Mark Chatting, and Harry Morris. The line-up also includes local players Jon Morales and John Odulio, as well as celebrity Andrew Wolff.
Although the coming tournament is important to gain ground in the Asian Rugby rankings, the team has its eyes on the next Asian 5 Nations Division 1 Championships, which the team bids to host in 2012 at the Rizal Stadium. “We want to emulate what the Azkals achieved this year with one thing different, we aim to actually win when we play with Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei and Singapore in April,” rugby national team head coach Matt Cullen said.
Because of their success, the team has been able to gather a few, but significant, supporters who share the same ideologies that they have. One of these major sponsors is Globe Telecom, who was attracted to the players' passion and dedication to their sport and their resolve to win honor for their mother country. “I know some companies that support sports that are already up there, already very well developed, already very popular, very well known. At Globe I thought we’d take a different path and help sports that are worth supporting but nobody knows about,” Globe Telecom CEO Ernest Cu shared.
Similar to the foreboding rumble of a volcano about to erupt, the national rugby team has been sending tremors of fear to their Asian counterparts. It’s only a matter of time until the Philippine Volcanoes explode in the world rugby scene and change the landscape of the sport with the Philippine flag in hand. “I know that when we put our jerseys on, good or bad, we’ll do our best for Philippine rugby,” Letts enthused.