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Rugby union in the Philippines is a minor but growing sport.
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Culture of the Philippines |
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Rugby union in the Philippines is a minor but growing sport.
The Philippine Rugby Football Union governs operations, tournaments, and development efforts of the sport in the Philippines and was founded in 1999. [1] [2]
Like many other Asian countries, early rugby in the Philippines was dominated by expatriates, who tended not to spread the game to the local population. [2] Expatriates were of British, Australian, New Zealand, and to a lesser extent American of origin.
The game has since spread to the local population, the roots of which are in international schools, maritime institutions, and charitable foundations. [2] Club development is particularly young.
The Philippines takes part in the Pacific Asia region of the Asian Five Nations. The Philippines managed to qualify for the main Asian Five Nations tournament in 2013 after finishing first in Division I in the 2012 Asian Five Nations division tournaments. They only won one game out of five, defeating the United Arab Emirates avoiding relegation back to Division I of the division tournament. They also took part in the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia, wherein they were defeated by Japan in the Bowl quarterfinals.
The PRFU has many rugby development programs. Many of which, target the grassroots development of the sport for the sustainability of talent.
Rugby 101 is an open for all clinic that is run by PRFU Development officers where beginners are exposed to rugby in a progressive manner. [3]
A salient feature of the union is the joint development and corporate social responsibility is the Foundation Club Program. The union is linked to various partner charitable institutions with direct human constituency. [4]
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby is simply based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends.
Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
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. Despite being a tropical nation, ice skating has recently become a popular sport in the Philippines. Sports such as athletics, weightlifting, aerobics, and martial arts are also popular recreations.
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.
The PRFU is the official governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in the Philippines. The PRFU was founded in 1998 and was granted full World Rugby membership in 2008. Philippine Rugby is a non-profit national sports association registered with SEC focused on growing and developing the sport of Rugby Union in the Philippines. The PRFU board consists of seven board members and a full-time staff of four full-time employees and consultants along with a number of regional Development Officers/Coaches located all over the country. The PRFU and its Development Officers provide free training in contact rugby for schools, institutions, clubs and local foundations.
The Sri Lanka national rugby union team, known as the Tuskers, represents Sri Lanka in men's international rugby union. The team has yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. They have the longest tradition of organised club rugby in Asia, dating back to 1879, which was just 8 years after the founding of the world's first rugby union in England. They regularly compete in the Asian Five Nations tournament and are currently in Division I. In the 2010 tournament, they made it to the finals beating Chinese Taipei 37 to 7.
The Singapore national rugby union team has yet to make its debut at the Rugby World Cup, though since the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Singapore have been participating in qualification competitions.
Rugby union in Trinidad and Tobago is a popular sport. There are currently 4,457 registered players, and 13 clubs. They are currently ranked 45th in the world.
Rugby union in Indonesia is a minor but growing sport, dating back several decades, and which has experienced fluctuations in its success. There are currently just under six hundred registered players in the country.
Rugby union in Hong Kong is long established, partly as a result of its being a British colony. Rugby union is one of the most popular sports in Hong Kong. In contrast to the People's Republic of China, it has had a continuous existence dating back over a hundred years, and is most notable for the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, the best known of the rugby sevens tournaments. The top domestic club competition is the HKRFU Premiership.
Rugby Union is a minor sport in Brunei
Rugby union in India is a minor sport. However, it is a fast-growing sport as some Indian sporting clubs are beginning to embrace the game. Rugby union is the second most popular winter sport after association football in India, which itself trails greatly in popularity to cricket.
Rugby union in Guam is a minor but growing sport. They are currently ranked 82nd by the IRB. Although Guam is often considered part of Oceania, it tends to take part in Asian rugby tournaments.
Rugby union in Pakistan is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby union in Cambodia is a minor but growing sport. Its governing body is the Cambodian Federation of Rugby.
Rugby union was first introduced into Lebanon both by the mandated French forces, and subsequently by the Lebanese returning from the diaspora. Introduced into many other parts of the Middle East, by the British military in the mid 20th Century, rugby has begun to develop across the Arabian peninsula with the establishment of many national rugby federations and the development of the Dubai Sevens, which has helped generate interest in the sport in Arabic-speaking nations.
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 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.
The Serendib International Cup was an international rugby union competition for emerging nations held in Sri Lanka in 2013. The Serendib Cup was contested by the hosts Sri Lanka and the Malagasy and Polish national rugby teams. The tournament was backed by the International Rugby Board and was played over three match days in Colombo between 26 October and 1 November, coinciding with the 2013 end-of-year rugby union tests.
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
