Wazzup Pilipinas!
The Volcanoes Philippine Rugby Team has recently won a match against its competition from UAE a few nights ago at the Rizal memorial Stadium in Manila.
Everyone cheered loud as the Philippine team was always way ahead of the competition. I never knew Rugby was as this intense and sensational as every player out there gave their all in the pursuit of the "ball" towards winning the match for the night.
Hep hep hooray for the Philippine Volcanoes as they deliver a heart-pounding blow-by-blow strike and run against players from the United Arab Emirates. Huge bodies slamming against each other, all sweating and determined to score a point.
The Philippine 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 the reigning Division I champions and are promoted to the top 5 for the 2013 tournament.
The Volcanoes are in the 2015 Rugby World Cup by beating the United Arab Emirates’ Falcons, 28-4. With the triumph the Volcanoes finish fourth in the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Elite Division behind champs Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea Republic. That means they remain in the top tier of Asian Rugby and can still qualify for the 2015 World Cup in England. The Philippines will stay in the company of perennial champions Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Sri Lanka.
“We couldn’t imagine being relegated so we had to win this game,” Mr. Graema Hagan said after Saturday’s competition.
Jarred Hodges, head coach of the Volcanoes, said after the game against the UAE that the team’s win means the World Cup dream is “still alive,” but a lot of work needs to be done between now and the 2014 Asian 5 Nations to at least get to No. 2. He paid tribute to the 5,700 fans that watched the game, the biggest group to watch a rugby competition in the Philippines.
Bloggers got a special VIP treatment as they were invited by Fila, one of the sponsors, to watch the match - complete with snacks and a close encounter meetup with the Volcanoes.
Coach Jarred Hodges praised the healthy crowd, calling them “amazing.” He also affirmed their presence in the Asian top five.
“We know we belong in the top flight of Asia. But we're not happy with fourth. We want to push for that second slot and get that World Cup berth.”
The 2014 A5N Elite Division champ automatically qualifies for the 2015 World Cup while the second-place team enters a four-team single-elimination “repechage” tournament for the last slot.
With the owners of Fila, plus a special guest celebrity Miss Tessa Prieto Valdez in the audience watching the match between the Philippines and UAE.
The Gulf nation is relegated to the second-tier Division One and will be replaced in the top tier by Sri Lanka.
The Philippines scored four tries from Christopher Hitch, Gareth Holgate, Graeme Hagan, and Matt Saunders.
This was one very luck baby in the arms of the masculine player member of the Philippine Volcanoes!
The coach tries to clam down a very rowdy fans and admirers - waiting to get the opportunity to have a photo ops with theiur idols.
Say " Boom!" as the Volcanoes gives a "pasabog" win last Saturday evening.
That's me in front of the group photo. See how happy I was!
With the charming Miss Tessa Prieto Valdez - love that smile of ours!
This time with the lovely owner of Fila - Thumbs up for great products and freebgies courtesy of Fila!
I can't wait to watch more of these matches as they were truly exciting! Add to that the experience of being VIP treated by Fila as one of the sponsors of the game.
Thanks for having us a few nights ago. We would love to come back for more!
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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