Volcanoes prepare to battle against Asia’s best

(Photo by Roy Afable)

The Philippine National Rugby Team is in the thick of preparations for their debut in the Elite Division of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Rugby competition. The Volcanoes will face their biggest challenge to date, facing number one-ranked Japan in the A5N opener to be held in Fukuoka on Saturday, April 20.

Zooming from the fourth to the top division in just five seasons, the Volcanoes have been hailed as the team to watch in Asian Rugby, having lost only once since joining the competition in 2008. Japan, who have been in the Elite Division since the A5N was founded, is the only team with a better win record than the Volcanoes, having never lost a match since the tournament’s inception.

The HSBC Asian 5 Nations is a grueling six-week long competition among the top 5 teams in Asia and is the qualifying competition for the Rugby World Cup 2015. Having been promoted from Division 1 in 2012, the Philippines are ranked fifth while Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates ranked first, second, third & fourth, respectively.

After Japan, the Volcanoes hope to gain home advantage when they face Hong Kong at Rizal Memorial Stadium on May 4, after which they meet South Korea on May 11 in South Korea. The Volcanoes end with a home match versus UAE on May 18, again at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

“We need to win at least one match during the A5N series to remain in the Elite Division for 2014,” explains team captain Michael Letts. “The winner of the Elite Division in 2014receives outright qualification to the Rugby World Cup 2015, while the Elite Division’s 2nd placer will face the 2nd placers from Africa, Europe and the Americas in a knock-out competition for the 20th & final Rugby World Cup slot” he adds.

The Volcanoes squad of 30, composed mainly of Filipino heritage players based in Australia, New Zealand, United States and United Kingdom, has been training under National Men’s 15s coach, Jarred Hodges, and will be trimmed down to 22 members that will travel to Japan on Thursday, April 18.

The following is the Philippine Volcanoes Asian 5 Nations roster:

Abraham, Phil Benares
Aronson, Alexander
Bautista, JC
Bellenie, Matthew Orag
Carroll, Terrence Javier
Coveney, Justin Villazor
Dacanay, Austin Garnica
De Guzman, Michael
Duhig, Michael Estrada
Feeney, David
Gomez, Cleo Ferrer
Gregson, Jeff Blanco
Hagan, Graeme
Hitch, Chris Baltazar
Holgate, Gareth dela Rosa
Howorth, Steve Pagtalunan
Letts, Jake Robrigado
Letts, Michael Robrigado
Matthews, Joe Bembo
Matthews, Luke Bembo
Olivier, Patrice Ortiz
Price, James Carandang
Robinson-Polkey, David
Rodriguez, Daniel
Saunders, Ben Abalos
Saunders, Matthew Abalos
Seeto, Darran Centillas
Sutcliffe, Josh Torres
Urquijo, Jaime Zobel
Ward, Jake


Press Release courtesy of the Philippine Rugby Football Union.