Philippines national rugby union team
Encyclopedia
The Philippines national rugby union team, nicknamed the "Volcanoes" represents the Philippines
in international rugby union
. The Philippines have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup
, but have been playing in the Asian 5 Nations tournaments since its inception in 2008. Currently they are in Division I.
was introduced mainly through the large number of British, Australian and New Zealand expatriates living in the country. In 1998 the Philippine Rugby Football Union
(PRFU), the national governing body for rugby union in the Philippines, was formed and in 2008 the PRFU gained full membership to the international governing body, the International Rugby Board
(IRB).
In December 2005, the Philippine national sevens rugby team captured the gold medal in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games
rugby sevens
tournament (as a demonstration sport), beating Indonesia
, 32-5 in Manila.
On May 20, 2006, the Philippines won its international test match debut 18-14 against Guam with the majority of the squad composed of long term expatriate residents and a small number of Filipino players. In December 2006, the Philippines Under-19 went undefeated in the Asian Rugby Football Union
(ARFU) Under-19 Second Division Tournament.
In December 2007, an all-Filipino rugby team was selected for the 24th South East Asian games in Thailand where they reached the Medal rounds after 2 days of hard fought pool matches. They defeated Malaysia in the semi-finals in golden point extra time. In the gold medal match, the Philippines was matched against the home side Thailand. With both sides locked at 14 all at half time, Thailand finally took control of the game late in the second half to win the 29 - 14. The Silver Medal performance at the South East Asian Games had opened doors for the expansion and development of the game in the Philippines.
In 2008, the Philippines dominated the fourth-tier of the ARFU Asian 5 Nations Series and captured the inaugural Division 4 title. During the tournament, the Philippines demolished Brunei 101-0 and then defeated the home side Guam 20-8 to capture the division title.
In 2009 the Philippines won the inaugural Asian 5 Nations Division III rugby tournament at the Nomads field in Parañaque City. Defeating Iran 15-0 and Guam 25-0 in their two matches, the Philippines were then promoted to the Asian Five Nations Division II rugby tournament.
In 2010 the Philippines competed in the Asian 5 Nations Division II tournament and won it beating India in the final on a score of 44-12. Also in 2010 they played in ARFU Rugby 7s tournaments in Shanghai, Borneo and the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
.
Head coach (for now): Expo Mejia
Magellan Cup
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in international rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. The Philippines have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
, but have been playing in the Asian 5 Nations tournaments since its inception in 2008. Currently they are in Division I.
History
The Philippines played its first international match in 2006. Rugby union in the PhilippinesRugby union in the Philippines
-Governing body:The governing body is the Philippines Rugby Football Union, which was founded in 1999.-History:Like many other Asian countries, early rugby in the Philippines was dominated by expatriates, who tended not to spread the game to the local population...
was introduced mainly through the large number of British, Australian and New Zealand expatriates living in the country. In 1998 the Philippine Rugby Football Union
Philippine Rugby Football Union
The Philippine Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Philippines. It was founded January 19, 1998 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board Monday, 1 November 2004.- External links :** at IRB.com...
(PRFU), the national governing body for rugby union in the Philippines, was formed and in 2008 the PRFU gained full membership to the international governing body, the International Rugby Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
(IRB).
In December 2005, the Philippine national sevens rugby team captured the gold medal in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games
2005 Southeast Asian Games
The 23rd Southeast Asian Games were held in the Philippines from November 27 to December 5 in 2005. The games were participated by the eleven nations of Southeast Asia. This was the first time that the opening and closing ceremonies were held in a large open field, despite the fact that Manila...
rugby sevens
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
tournament (as a demonstration sport), beating Indonesia
Indonesia national rugby union team
The Indonesia national rugby union team represents Indonesia in rugby union. They are nicknamed the "Rhinos". The team is an associate member of IRB. They have yet to play in the Rugby World Cup. The Indonesian squad was formed in 2006 to attend the IRB sanctioned Six Division Asian Rugby Football...
, 32-5 in Manila.
On May 20, 2006, the Philippines won its international test match debut 18-14 against Guam with the majority of the squad composed of long term expatriate residents and a small number of Filipino players. In December 2006, the Philippines Under-19 went undefeated in the Asian Rugby Football Union
Asian Rugby Football Union
The Asian Rugby Football Union ' is the governing body of rugby union in Asia under the authority of the International Rugby Board.Founded in 1968 by eight charter nations, the Union today has 27 member unions in countries across Asia, stretching from Kazakhstan to Guam.The aim of ARFU is: "to...
(ARFU) Under-19 Second Division Tournament.
In December 2007, an all-Filipino rugby team was selected for the 24th South East Asian games in Thailand where they reached the Medal rounds after 2 days of hard fought pool matches. They defeated Malaysia in the semi-finals in golden point extra time. In the gold medal match, the Philippines was matched against the home side Thailand. With both sides locked at 14 all at half time, Thailand finally took control of the game late in the second half to win the 29 - 14. The Silver Medal performance at the South East Asian Games had opened doors for the expansion and development of the game in the Philippines.
In 2008, the Philippines dominated the fourth-tier of the ARFU Asian 5 Nations Series and captured the inaugural Division 4 title. During the tournament, the Philippines demolished Brunei 101-0 and then defeated the home side Guam 20-8 to capture the division title.
In 2009 the Philippines won the inaugural Asian 5 Nations Division III rugby tournament at the Nomads field in Parañaque City. Defeating Iran 15-0 and Guam 25-0 in their two matches, the Philippines were then promoted to the Asian Five Nations Division II rugby tournament.
In 2010 the Philippines competed in the Asian 5 Nations Division II tournament and won it beating India in the final on a score of 44-12. Also in 2010 they played in ARFU Rugby 7s tournaments in Shanghai, Borneo and the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
Overall record
Their test match record against all nations:| Nation | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| Total | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 69.23% |
Current squad
The following is the 24-man squad for the 2011 Asian Five Nations Division I tournament2011 Asian Five Nations division tournaments
The 2011 Asian Five Nations division tournaments, known as the 2011 HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the HSBC, refer to the divisions played within the tournement. This was the 4th series of the Asian Five Nations....
.
Head coach (for now): Expo Mejia
Expo Mejia
Expedito Jose Mejia is the current head coach of the Philippines national rugby union team having been appointed in November, 2009. In his first year he guided the Volcanoes to the Asian Five Nations 2010 Division II title thereby earning promotion to Division I for 2011...
Honours
Asian Five NationsAsian Five Nations
The Asian Five Nations, known as the HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to its sponsorship by HSBC, is an annual international rugby union competition held between the top five Asian national rugby sides...
- Pacific-Asia Regional Champions: 2008
- Division 3 Champions: 2009
- Division 2 Champions: 2010
Magellan Cup
- 2008
- 2009
External links
- Philippine Rugby Football Union official website
- Philippines at IRB.com
- Philippines national team at RugbyInAsia.com
- Manila 10s the social Rugby tournament that has promoted Rugby Union in the Philippines