Rugby eruption due with rise of Philippine Volcanoes
On the eve of their departure for a big international tournament in Shanghai, China, the national rugby team, better known as the Philippine Volcanoes, is upbeat not only about their chances in the 12-nation tournament but also about the growth of the sport in the country.
The Volcanoes are set to compete in the Shanghai Sevens, where they will battle Asian powerhouses Korea, Japan and host China, from August 27 to 28, hoping to continue their string of successes in international tournaments and inch closer to their goal of qualifying for the 2015 International Rugby Union Rugby World Cup.
The Volcanoes, who take on world no. 32 Korea and the United Arab Emirates in their group on Saturday, have made steady progress in Asian rugby, advancing from Asian 5 Nations Division 5 status a few years ago to their current Division 1 level. By 2013, the Volcanoes hope to break into the Asian 5 Nations Premier Division and compete in the IRB World Cup Qualifications.
Although the team still lacks the minimum number of official test matches to be given a world ranking, they have consistently performed well against higher-ranked Asian teams, and national team member Jake Letts is optimistic about their future.
"We actually have to play 10 official test matches to get a ranking," said Letts, who is a Fil-Australian. "I think we're up to about eight or nine. We've actually beaten teams that are ranked around 50. We're looking to get the final ranking, which is the 90th spot, to around 45 or 50 mark in a space of four years. Give credit to the boys here. I think it's an amazing accomplishment to keep this thing running. I think Korea is ranked 30 or 35 but in the end they barely beat us in the last five minutes. So next year we'll take on division 1 and hopefully we'll host that tournament in Manila. I know we really do have a shot at making this World Cup."
Telecom giant Globe Telecom has thrown its full support behind the Volcanoes, with no less than Globe CEO Ernest Cu gracing the team's send-off press conference last Wednesday. Cu said the company decided to back the Volcanoes after seeing potential in both the national team and the sport in general, so much so that Globe even has its own rugby team called the Immortals.
"One of the other things, aside from the fact that these guys are almost self-supporting, is finding out these guys also moved up very quickly from Division 5 all the way up to Division 1," Cu explained. "When we got involved with them two years ago, they were going to India, and I think they succeeded again in leveling up one more level to the next division. And it's astounding to see how a probably underfunded, almost self-funded type of endeavor can reach this kind of success.
"Globe began its commitment seeing how, if we are able to support them, where can these guys go? A lot of these teams that we have in more mainstream sports, as I call them, never get anywhere. But here is an opportunity for the country to shine, albeit at a much smaller sport, much smaller circle, but still gain number one position."
The country's governing body for rugby, the Philippine Rugby Federation Union (PRFU), believes the Philippines has what it takes to crack the top 50 world rankings of the IRB.
"We at the PRFU board did some calculations and we did our own sort of analysis, and we thought this team would basically break the top 50 in the world," said PRFU secretary-general Rick Santos. "It's very interesting. This is probably one of the greatest sports stories in Asia."
Santos added that unbeknownst to many sports fans, the rugby team actually won a gold medal in the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games, when rugby was still an exhibition sport, and a silver in the 2007 SEAG in Thailand.
"This is actually a great success story. As Ernest talked about, with some of the guys paying their own way, it's almost like a start-up. And going back 10 years ago, Philippine rugby was really in its infancy. So it's really picked up speed over the last five years. There's now a lot of talk about the Azkals, but people will be talking about the Philippine Volcanoes."
The Volcanoes are doing their part in helping promote the sport. Letts revealed that national team members give free rugby lessons every Monday and Wednesday from 6 to 8PM at the UL football field in Pasig. Based on attendance, it appears the sport is slowly gaining some foothold locally.
"At the start, we only got 10 to 20 people attending. Since word got out and we've had success, and Bench and Globe have come onboard, we've increased our number to around 80 to 100 people learning the sport."
Cu said he hopes his Immortals team will inspire other companies to also form their own rugby teams. "We can put together a corporate league," he noted.
Matt Cullen, the team's coach, explained to this writer how the Volcanoes got their name.
"Back in World War II, there was an infantry brigade here based in the Philippines," said the Australian native. "It was a mixture of expats — American, Australians, UK — and Filipinos, and they nicknamed themselves the Volcanoes. Our first team back in 2005 was predominantly expats who were living here in the Philippines, and we encouraged Filipinos to play. So we decided that the Volcanoes would be a perfect name. Rugby's a battle, it's like going to war. You've got to prepare yourself physically and mentally to go in and put your body on the line. So it's very appropriate that the Volcanoes was a brigade here in World War II."
Cullen, who has been involved in the sport for 25 years now, says the team is now composed of players who have Filipino heritage, although almost all of them are Fil-Foreigners. "Now we have a team made up of players [with Filipino nationality]. But some of them still have heritage in Australia, in the States and in the UK."
