Volcanoes on track for 2016 Olympics

MANILA, Philippines - It may be a long shot but Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) president Alvin San Diego said yesterday if the Volcanoes continue to improve under new head coach Al Caravelli, qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in the 7s competition is a real possibility.

“Four years ago, we laid out our goals until 2016,” said San Diego. “So far, we’re on track. We’ve been promoted to the premier division of the Asian 5 Nations. We’re now ranked in the top three of the Asian 7s series. We earned a ticket to the Rugby World Cup 7s in Moscow next year, the first time ever. And we’re rated No. 56 in the IRB (International Rugby Board) standings with a promotion in line after qualifying for the World Cup.”

The Olympics will welcome rugby back as a regular event in Rio de Janeiro after its last staging in 1924.. Only the Asian champion will qualify for the 12-nation tournament, making it a tough challenge for the Philippines considering Japan and Hong Kong have dominated the Asian 7s since 2009.

“We’re definitely on the way up,” said San Diego. “Other countries train for months to prepare for a competition like the Asian 7s but we bring in our players from different countries only a week before and still, we put up a good fight. The South Korea federation has a full-time staff of about 30 with a budget of $3 to $4 Million a year while we maintain a full-time staff of only four with a budget that’s just a fraction of theirs. They show up for a tournament with a coaching staff of six while we come in with two. But we play with heart.”

What sets the Volcanoes apart from the rest is their commitment to flag and country. “Under rugby rules, you qualify for a national team if you’re a resident of the country for at least three years straight regardless of citizenship, your bloodline is at least 25 percent of the country you’re representing and you’ve never played for another country before,” said San Diego. “Other countries like Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Spain and Zimbabwe use a lot of expats but in our case, our only import is Papua New Guinea’s Tim Bweheni, a 23-year-old student of Adventist University in Sta. Rosa. We prefer to recruit half-Filipinos and use heritage, not residence, as our route. Our players are volunteers most of whom live abroad and pay their own way to come to Manila. When we qualified for the World Cup in Singapore a week ago, nobody got a bonus. We don’t play for money, we play for Pinoy pride which is one of our three values, the others being respect and discipline.”

In Singapore, the Philippines took third place after beating South Korea, 22-19, in the playoff for the last Asian slot to the World Cup. There were 24 countries that competed in the Asian 7s joust. The Volcanoes blanked Guam, 33-0, to open the campaign then lost 29-12 to Hong Kong. The Philippines bounced back to defeat China, 14-7, in the knockout quarterfinals and bowed to Japan, 17-7, in the semifinals to set the stage for the playoff with South Korea.

Caravelli, the 52-year-old former US national coach, was on the Volcanoes bench with assistant Expo Mejia. The Singapore tournament was held on the heels of the three-leg Asian 7s series that started in Shanghai, moved to Borneo and ended in Mumbai. Caravelli, who lives in Connecticut, took a leave from work in a Northern California-based IT company to coach the Volcanoes in Shanghai and Singapore. Mejia handled the reins in Borneo and Mumbai.

For the World Cup qualifiers, the Volcanoes recalled four players signed to contracts in the Japan league – half-Australian Oliver and Matt Saunders of NTT, half-Welsh Gareth (Gaz) Holgate of Kyuden and half-French Patrice Olivier of Yamaha. They were joined by half-English Andrew Wolff, Bweheni, half-Welsh Harry Morris and half-Australians Ken Stern, Ryan Clark, Ben Saunders and Luke and Joe Matthews. Only Wolff and Bweheni live in Manila.

“Our players pay their own way from where they live to Manila then we take care of flying them to where the tournament is played,” said San Diego. “They’re always out of pocket. We don’t cover their air fares from home to Manila and back. They’re essentially volunteers. Their commitment to play for our country is admirable. Slowly, we’re threatening Japan and Hong Kong. With more exposure and support, we might be able to overtake them and qualify for the Olympics. It’s a wild dream but four years ago, nobody thought we would ever qualify for the World Cup.”

Mejia, 42, was born in Manila and migrated to Australia with his family when he was three. He has coached rugby for 10 years with stints in the US and Australian premier leagues. Last year, Mejia decided to settle in Manila for good and is now working full-time with the PRFU. He recruited Caravelli on a volunteer basis to coach the Volcanoes.