Volcanoes move to No. 52 in world rankings

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Volcanoes climbed four rungs to a new high of No. 52 in the world rugby rankings following their stirring 26-25 victory over the Sri Lanka side in the Asian 5 Nations in Colombo recently.

On its official website, the International Rugby Board has cited the Philippines as reaching new highs in the IRB World Rankings last Monday with the Volcanoes now moving 20 places up since debuting at No. 72 in 2012. 

This is not the first time the Philippines has been singled out by the IRB. In 2012, the Volcanoes’ successive wins in the Asian 5 Nations Division 1 competition propelled the team to a 16-place climb to 56 in a span of just two weeks. This feat earned the Philippines the distinction of being one of the biggest gainers in 2012.

In contrast, the loss dropped Sri Lanka from 48th to No. 54, the biggest fall in the last seven days.

The Philippines, meanwhile, will have another chance to improve its ranking when the Volcanoes face the South Koreans (ranked 26) on Saturday in Southern Plains Field, Laguna.

The winner of the match will clinch third place in the A5N Premier Division, while the loser will be relegated to Division 1 in 2015, along with Sri Lanka.

The IRB World Rankings are calculated using a “Points Exchange” system, in which sides take points off each other based on the match result. Whatever one side g ains, the other loses.

The exchanges are based on the match result, the relative strength of each team, and the margin of victory, and there is an allowance for home advantage. There are currently 102 nations in the IRB World Rankings.