MANILA, Philippines - Pinangalanan na ng Philippine Rugby Football Union, (PRFU) ang 28 miyembro ng Philippine Volcanoes na sasabak sa Division 1 ng Asia Rugby Championships (ARC) na gaganapin sa Mayo 14 hanggang 21 sa Ipoh Padang Field, Ipoh sa Malaysia.
Pangungunahan ang Philippine Volcanoes National Men’s 15s Team ng beteranong sina Oliver Abalos Saunders, Michael Estrada Duhig at Patrice Ortiz Olivier.
May mga manlalaro ring napili mula sa Philippine Residents XV na tumalo sa Singapore national team noong Abril 22 sa pamamagitan ng 29-17 panalo.
“Our SPI 15s domestic competition is growing every year, the win over Singapore played a crucial role for some members into selection for the ARC,” wika ni national team head coach David Johnston.
Ilan sa mga baguhang manlalaro ay sina Kevin Sysu Gordon sa center position at Gerald Zamora Tulud sa backrow. Si Gordon ay naglaro sa professional rugby league sa ilalim ng koponang Gold Coast Titans sa Australia.
“This year we have some new players making their debut for the SPI Volcanoes--the likes of Ricky Kucia, Ned Plarizan Stephenson returning after a stint in the 7s program, Gerald and Kevin also, it’s always a positive transition when new faces are in the team,” pahayag naman ni PRFU , Managing Director Matt Cullen.
Kasama rin sa koponan sina Austin Dacanay, Aldrin Mercado, Masayuki Sekiguchi, Philip Abraham, David Paz Robinson-Polkey, Eric Erickson, Ray Laforteza, Steve Howorth, David Feeney, Ashley Heward, Chris Anderson, Terrence Carroll, Benjamin Mudie, Gerald Tulud, Edlen Hernandez, Joe Dawson, Jake Letts, Justin Coveney, Jovan Masalunga, Daniel Kucia, Timothy Bweheni, Ned Stephenson, Harry Morris at Francis Tagalia.
Makakasagupa ng Volcanoes ang mga world ranked teams gaya ng Sri Lanka (40) Malaysia (54) at UAE (72). Kasalukuyang nasa ika-57 ang Pilipinas sa world rankings.
“It’s going to be an exciting tournament; all teams are very well evenly matched. The team will start official training camp this weekend so hopefully we can get well like we always do, get together our game plan so we can be successful over in Malaysia,” ani Letts.
Makakasagupa ng Volcanoes ang Sri Lanka sa Mayo 14, Malaysia sa Mayo 17 at UAE sa Mayo 21.