| Birth name | Kenneth Mitchell Stern | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 May 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Stamford, CT, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Boston University (2010) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kenneth Mitchell Stern (born 21 May 1988) is a Filipino-American rugby union player for the Philippines national rugby union team, nicknamed the "Volcanoes". [1] He has represented the Philippines in both rugby fifteens and sevens. His primary position is wing.
Originally from Quezon, Stern's family emigrated to Stamford, Connecticut, where he attended Fairfield College Preparatory School in nearby Fairfield, Connecticut. He graduated from Boston University in 2010, where he was a member of the rugby team. His collegiate rugby honors included New England Rugby Football Union All-Stars, the Northeast Collegiate All-Stars and the All-American 7s Team. [2]
Stern was also a member of the New England Immortals rugby league select side that beat Canada in 2010.
Stern made his International debut for the Philippines in the 2009 Asian Five Nations tournament, where the Philippines earned a promotion to Division 2 by beating Iran and Guam. In 2010, he was a member of the Volcano squad who took home the shield, scoring two tries in a 34–12 win over India [3] helping the Philippines to their second promotion in as many years. Stern would continue to play at wing with the Volcanoes in 2011, including a test match against Hong Kong, [4] and again in 2012, helping the Philippines get yet another promotion to the A5N Top 5.
Stern also represented the Philippines in rugby sevens, including the Volcanoes first ever World Cup appearance in the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Moscow, Russia. He also was a member of the 2014 Asian Games squad in Incheon, South Korea. [5]
Aside from rugby, Stern has also had a successful modeling career, appearing in such publications as Cosmopolitan in both the United States and the Philippines, receiving "Hunk of the Month" honors in the December 2011 issue and was named a finalist in the 2011 "Cosmo Bachelor of the Year" poll. [6] His sister Elizabeth Mae Stern was the former Philippine figure skating national champion [7] and an Olympic hopeful.
Sports in the Philippines is an important part of the country's culture. There are six major sports in the Philippines: basketball, boxing, tennis, football, billiards, and volleyball.
The Philippines national rugby union team, nicknamed the "Volcanoes", represents the Philippines in international rugby union. The Philippines have been playing in the Asia Rugby Championship since 2006 when the team was first created. In 2012 they won the Division I championship and were promoted to the top 5 for the 2013 tournament where they earned 4th place and again in the 2014 tournament. The Philippines have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup.
Fairfield College Preparatory School is a Jesuit preparatory school located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an all-male school of about 800 students, founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942.
The Fairfield Stags are the athletic programs representing Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Most of the programs are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and classified as Division I (non-football) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The Boston College Rugby Football Club, or BCRFC, is a collegiate rugby union team that represents Boston College. It competes in the East Coast Rugby Conference (ECRC). Like other Boston College athletic teams, BC ruggers are called the Boston College Eagles. With over 90 members, BC Rugby is one of the largest athletic teams at Boston College.
The Pakistan national rugby union team represents Pakistan in international rugby union. Pakistan is a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB), and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup tournament. As of 2021, they will play in Division II of the Asian championships, having been promoted from Division III in 2019.
Rugby union in the Philippines is a minor but growing sport.
Kevin Sysu Gordon is a former Philippines international rugby league footballer. A New South Wales Country and Prime Minister's XIII representative, he played as a winger and fullback for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League (NRL). He played his entire career with the Titans in the NRL.
Volney Rouse is an American rugby union player. Rouse plays his club rugby for San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Club, and also played for the San Francisco Rush in 2016.
Gareth Leslie "Gaz" Holgate is a Welsh-born Philippine international rugby union player. Born in St Asaph, Denbighshire, Holgate currently plays for Japanese club Kyuden Voltex. His primary position is as a centre, but he can also play as a fly-half.
The Laos women's national rugby union team is a national sporting side that represents Thailand in women's rugby union. They first played international sevens rugby in 2007 at the South East Asia sevens, where they finished third. They then played a ten-a-side international against Cambodia in 2009, and in 2010 they won a non-test match developmental tournament involving Thailand and the Philippines. Their first full test was against Thailand in 2011.
The Philippines women's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Volcanoes represents the Philippines in women's rugby union. They played their first international on 24 November 2011 against China.
The Philippines national rugby sevens team is a minor national sevens side. The 2012 Hong Kong Sevens was their first appearance in an IRB Sevens World Series. They were 1 of 4 Asian teams that qualified through regional tournaments to be included in the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens, it is also a qualifying tournament for inclusion in the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series. After the Philippines won third place against South Korea in the 2012 Singapore Sevens Series, they gained qualification to the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow. The Philippines finished third at the 2018 Asia Rugby Sevens Series, and qualified to the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens World Series qualifier. At the tournament, the team defeated Zimbabwe and advanced to quarter-finals, where they lost to Asian rival Hong Kong.
Andrew James Penaflorida Wolff is an English Rugby Sevens player and TV host. he currently plays for the Alabang Eagles Rugby Club and the Philippines' National Rugby Sevens Team, the Philippine Volcanoes.
The Philippine women's national rugby sevens team, known as the Volcanoes, represents the Philippines in rugby sevens. They played their first international sevens in 2010 at the Asian Championships. They won the 2019 Asia Rugby Women's 7s Trophy Series in Indonesia.
Eric Tai is a Tongan-born Filipino actor, model, TV host, comedian, and social media personality. He is also a professional Arena of Valor esports player, and former rugby union player who played for the Alabang Eagles and represented the Philippines national rugby union team in 15s and 7s. He was also one of the hosts of It's Showtime, where he went by the screen name Eruption.
The New England Immortals was the first All-Star representative Rugby League Football team made up of the top American players from all Rugby League teams in the six New England states, and those US athletes who come from the region.
Lito Ramirez is a Philippine international rugby union and rugby sevens player. Ramirez is the first homegrown player who was the product of the grassroots program of the Philippine Rugby Football Union to become part of the national rugby team when he was named part of the rugby sevens squad that participated at the 2015 ARFU Men's Sevens Championships in July 2015.fly-half in local rugby union games but a winger and full-back
Ada Lacia Milby is a Filipino-American rugby player who plays for the Philippine national women's team. She is also the first female member of the World Rugby Council. Ada is the first woman to be appointed to the World Rugby Council, in 2017 she serves on the Regions Committee and Rugby Committee; and she is also a member of the Asia Rugby EXCO since 2016. She heads the Women Advisory Committee and serves on the Admin and Finance Committee. She is now also the President of Philippine Rugby Football Union, being on the board since 2013.
Richard Goodwin is a Filipino-Australian sportsman who has represented the Philippines national cricket team, national rugby league team, and national rugby sevens team.
