SPORTS
SMOKIN’ HOT: The Philippine Volcanoes clinched a spot in the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013, to be held in Moscow. It will be the first time that a Philippines national side in any team sport has qualified for a world championship or World Cup event.
RUGBY CRAZE IN MANILA PHIL GITTUS gives us the lowdown on this sport, in time for the biggest rugby season in the Philippines. Photos by BOGEE ROMERO t may seem strange to the uninitiated, but this month, men ranging in age from their late teens to gents who are well into retirement will return home from Manila, battered, bruised, and confused...and they will have had a great time! The third weekend in March will see hundreds of players of all shapes, sizes, ages, and all levels of athletic ability descend on Manila to take part in the 24th Annual Manila Tens International Rugby Festival, held at Nomad Sports Club in Parañaque. Some will travel with high hopes of returning home with some silverware at the end of the weekend and some will travel hoping just to survive their annual reintroduction to physical activity, minimal sleep, and an excessive intake of alcohol. The tournament, whose principal sponsor this year is Deborah Services Ltd, is rightly billed as the premier social rugby tournament in the Southeast Asian rugby calendar. But don’t let that deceive 70 I Mabuhay Magazine I March 2013
The Heat is On The action at Nomad Sports Club will kick off at 8 a.m. on Mar. 16, 2013 and will offer nonstop action throughout the weekend. All are welcome and admission is free.
you, there will be some quality rugby played, that’s for sure. In recent years the bar has been repeatedly raised in terms of the standard of the Cup Division. In 2011, the winners were a superbly drilled outfit from South Wales, the JML Welsh Warriors, but even their wizardry was overshadowed last March, when the CAPE Crusaders from the University of Queensland delivered a masterclass in tens rugby, topped off with a 42–7 annihilation of their fellow countrymen representing the Lloyd McDermott Foundation in the final. Anyone who witnessed the slick performance of last year’s champions over the weekend will not be surprised to learn that the University of Queensland has provided 60 players to the Australian national team over the years, including seven captains. It’s been nearly 20 years since the home team have lifted the Cup; however, Nomads have won the Plate, the very competitive second tier trophy, three times in that period and are the reigning champions, having won all six games last year without conceding a single point. With a largely unchanged squad, they will be determined to give the local crowd plenty to cheer about again this year. One of their main rivals will be the Alabang