www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=695212&publicationSubCategoryId=86Philippine Volcanoes win big in Asian Rugby; Pinoys still don't notice
EMOTIONAL WEATHER REPORT By Jessica Zafra (The Philippine Star) Updated June 12, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (2) View comments
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Chris Hitch, named Best Forward for the Philippine team, passes to Gareth Holgate, Best Player, who scores a try.
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The Philippines demolished Malaysia at the Asian 5 Nations Division 1 tournament in Korea last Saturday, establishing itself as a serious contender for the Asian Top Five next year.
Final score was 86-20. The Philippine Volcanoes dominated every aspect of the game, scoring 15 tries to Malaysia’s one. Most of Malaysia’s points came from penalties called against the Volcanoes, who were fired up and keen to erase the memory of their first defeat in A5N two days earlier.
That bitter pill was administered by top-ranked Korea, who beat Singapore in the final 58-19 to reclaim their place in the Premier Division. Korea is ranked 33rd in the world; Philippine rugby, the upstart of A5N, is too young to even have a world ranking.
You would never have guessed it from watching the Volcanoes battle the Asian heavyweight. In the dying minutes of that match the Filipinos could have leveled the score at 27-all. “We made a lot of mistakes that they capitalized on,†said Fil-Welsh center Gareth Holgate. “Seventy percent of possession was theirs and we defended our asses off.â€
James Price brushed off some much larger defenders to take the ball across the line.
“It’s taxing on the body when you’re making 30 tackles and they’ve got the ball for five, six phases each time,†added Justin Coveney. “It’s too much defense. You try to avoid that in rugby.â€
“You want to have the ball,†Holgate laughed.
The A5N report noted that the final score of 20-34 flattered the hosts. “We will make sure that we cut out those mistakes,†declared national coach Expo Mejia. “They were just simple errors. We’re confident of coming away with the win on Saturday.â€
On Saturday they were awesome.
Fil-Aussie wing Joven Clarke, making his international debut for the Philippines, literally flew across the field to start the blitz for the Philippines. Holgate and Coveney made seven tries between them; Clarke added another in the second half.
The half-time score was 38-17, with the Volcanoes giving away penalties due to lapses in discipline. In the second half they gave up just one penalty.
Solid work by the forward pack, particularly vice-captain Chris Hitch, ensured that the Volcanoes had the ball and kept it for most of the 80 minutes. No one could get past the Hitch, and when he made a try it was with three Malaysian defenders clinging to him. Austin Dacanay, at 34 the oldest player in the Volcanoes, also scored (Chiropractors know all about pain).
Scrum-half James Price, another player making his debut for the Philippines, showed extreme hustle in retrieving the ball. Later he brushed off a row of defenders to take the ball across the line himself. The always-reliable fly-half Oliver Saunders kicked in seven conversions. Patrice Olivier came in as a substitute and scored a try. “I scored the try for my mother and for my family who support me,†said the Fil-French winger, whose mother passed away in Manila when he was eight.
In the last minute the forwards, driven by Fil-Am Josh Sutcliffe, made like a tortoise and carried the ball over the line to bring the score to 86-20.
Volcanoes after the win
“We stuck to our structure so I knew we would put on a big score,†coach Mejia summed up. “Our game plan was good on Wednesday but we were unlucky. We were just up against some very tough opposition.â€
At next year’s A5N tournament the Philippines will battle Singapore, Sri Lanka (relegated from the premier division) and Chinese Taipei (promoted from Division 2). At stake is promotion to the Top 5 in Asia and qualifying for the Rugby World Cup.
Three members of the Philippine A5N team signed with professional rugby teams just before the Korea tour. Olivier now plays for the Beziers rugby club in the south of France, and Holgate for Kyuden Voltex in Fukuoka, Japan. Volcanoes captain Michael Letts is joining Toyota Shokki rugby club in Nagoya, Japan.
Up next for the Philippine rugby team: Sevens — the faster, shorter, arguably more brutal variation of rugby. The Philippines will compete at the Shanghai Sevens, then the Borneo Sevens. Rugby sevens is on the program at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Just before midnight on Sunday the Philippine rugby team returned to Manila the way they left: with no fanfare, little public awareness (though social networking efforts have upped the number of Philippine Rugby Football Union followers on Twitter to 481), and very limited media coverage.
Joven Clarke sparked the scoring blitz and made two tries in the game.
Granted, these rugby players hoard their vacation time, spend their own money and put their bodies on the line to play for a country that doesn’t know they exist. They’ve done this for years; they’re not about to start complaining about the lack of attention.
It’s just not right.
At least media coverage is picking up: the GMA News Channel is now airing the Philippine Volcanoes’ games, and the team’s results are reported regularly by Channel 7. And several members of the team will soon be appearing in ads for Bench, a major sponsor of Philippine rugby. Bench billboards—that will definitely build public awareness. This is a good start; pick it up.
Time for a rock analogy. The Volcanoes remind us of a great indie band; we’ve known a few of those. They do brilliant work known only to a small, very committed core audience. When the work is this good the fans have no right to keep it to themselves, even if they worry that fame will corrupt the band or take the edge off the music. Yes, you will have to share the music with people you can’t stand—because it doesn’t belong to you. Greatness affects everybody, it infuses their lives with a sense of possibility. But first the band needs to break out, and who could spread the word faster than their fans.
Gareth Holgate, Matt Saunders and Jake Letts have been playing for the Philippines since they joined the national under-19s team in 2006.
When the Philippine Volcanoes go into battle, they carry our country. Here at home, we have to carry them.
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I have to mention that not too long ago, no one noticed the Azkals either and was barely covered by the media, inspite of the long tradition of the sport in the Philippines. They were named the Azkals for a reason, because they were treated like street dogs. Rugby has an even higher mountain to climb so for them success is even more important as the sport is new to the country.