Volcanoes gun for Asia rugby title vs Singapore

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Volcanoes seek to clinch the Asia Rugby Championship Division 1 crown with another explosive performance today in the final match of their one-on-one duel with Singapore at the Southern Plains in Laguna.

In high spirits after a huge 32-24 victory in the opener last Saturday, the Pinoy ruggers look to sustain the momentum and seal the deal at 3 p.m.

“We want to be able to secure the series with two wins over Singapore,” said Philippine Rugby Football Union general manager Jake Letts, whose team is aiming to break a six-year title drought in Division 1.

Drawing inspiration from a vocal home crowd, the Volcanoes unleashed a strong finishing kick to overturn a one-point deficit in the second half and beat the Singaporeans by eight points.

The victory gave Phl five points after the first game while preventing Singapore from gaining bonus points by limiting the visitors to two tries and winning by more than seven markers.

“We were solid in defense up front, we showed heart. Our backs proved to be dominant in space,” said Phl skipper Steven Pagtalunan Howorth.

Robert Luceno Fogerty, the youngest member,  scored a clutch 72nd minute try that put the hosts ahead at 25-21.