Philippines Volcanoes reveal A5N lineup vs Japan

The Philippine Volcanoes' quest to make the Rugby World Cup takes its next step, as it revealed the team that will face Japan in the Asian 5 Nations Tournament in Fukuoka on April 20.

The annual tournament is the highest tier of international rugby in the continent. Featuring the top five Asian rugby nations, The A5N is a round-robin tournament that spans from April and May this year. The Philippines will be hosting its matches on May 4 against Hong Kong and May 18 against the United Arab Emirates at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Aside from Japan, they will also travel to Ansan to play against South Korea on May 11.

1 Dacanay, Austin Garnica
2 Duhig, Michael Estrada
3 Bellenie, Matthew Orag
4 Howorth, Steve Pagtalunan
5 Urquijo, Jaime Zobel 
6 Carroll, Terrence Javier
7 Hitch, Chris Baltazar
8 Ward, Jake
9 Price, James Carandang
10 Holgate, Gareth dela Rosa
11 Matthews, Joseph Bembo
12 Coveney, Justin Villazor
13 Saunders, Matthew Abalos
14 Olivier, Patrice Ortiz
15 Letts, Michael Robrigado
16 Robinson-Polkey, David
17 Hagan, Graeme
18 Bautista, Joshua Che
19 Feeney, David
20 Seeto, Darran Centillas
21 Letts, Jake Robrigado
22 Aronson, Alexander
23 Gregson, Jeff Blanco

Head coach: Jarred Hodges
Team Manager: Phil Gittus
Asst coach: Stuart Woodhouse
Physiotherapist: Christopher Bailey

Asian 5 Nations Rugby in the Philippines

Are you ready for people to score a try? The best way to learn a sport is observing. This is probably the closest thing to high quality rugby. One should try and take advantage and watch these games at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Besides, Filipinos are competing, so it is an opportunity to express our pride, admiration and nationalism.

Hopefully, I have the chance to watch these matches. These four teams comprise Division I, which is one tier lower from the Asian rugby kings (Japan, Korea, UAE, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan).