THE Philippine Volcanoes arrived in Dubai recently to start their preparations for their first international rugby sevens event since the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
“It’s been a long time, but we are happy to be back and excited for a new chapter,” Philippine Rugby’s Jake Letts said. The national program saw no international competition because of the global pandemic.
The Volcanoes men’s and women’s teams qualified for the 2021 Asia Sevens Series, which features only the top eight rugby nations across the region.
The men’s squad played in the series since 2017 while the women’s team gained promotion after their gold medal finish in the Asia Trophy Series in 2019.
Besides formalizing their 2021 Asian rugby sevens rankings, the tournament will serve as World Rugby Sevens Rugby World Cup Asian Qualifier, where the top two teams will advance to the Rugby World Cup in South Africa in 2022.
The men’s team made a tremendous feat in 2013 in Russia. The Philippines selected a new crop of talented players and of the 24 athletes, 10 are making their senior international sevens debut.
The national program also welcomed head coach Fetala’i Taua’a for the women’s team after a successful 2019 season securing a gold medal at the Asia Trophy Series and the country’s first silver at the 2019 SEA Games.
On the men’s side, a new coaching staff steps into the program with former Coach Josh Sutcliffe, current head coach of Stanford Rugby, selected to lead the program with another former Volcano Austin Dacanay as assistant.
The competition kicks off on November 19 and 20 at the Dubai Sports City.