INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines—Mission accomplished.

The Philippines banked on another strong finish to whitewash Guam, 25-0, Saturday and rule the Asian Five Nations Division III rugby tournament at the Nomads field in Parañaque City.

The Volcanoes scored all but three of their points in the second half as they clinched promotion to Division II, where they will be pitted against Thailand, China and India in June next year.

Rafael Zappia, a Filipino-Australian based in Sydney, accounted for 13 points, scoring one try and two field goals to fire up the Volcanoes, who won both their games via shutouts, including an 18-0 blanking of Iran.

Rafael’s younger brother, Rupert, also sparkled off the bench as he iced the win with another try and a two-point field goal two minutes from time.

“This win puts us in the map in international rugby,” said Volcanoes coach Matt Cullen.

The Volcanoes dominated the first half for long spells but only scored through Zappiah’s 35-meter field goal in the 15th minute.

But chinks in the Guamanians’ armor began to show early in the second half and the Volcanoes were quick to pounce on the opportunities.

A defensive offside handed Zappiah an easy penalty conversion from 10 meters in the 55th minute to double the lead, five minutes before the Volcanoes scored their first try by simply overpowering the Guamanians on a 16-man scrum, leaving Freddie Morris with the easiest of touches to score.

“We regrouped at halftime and put more pressure on them (Guamanians),” said Cullen, who has a squad with an average age of 22.

“We knew it was going to open up in the second half and our fitness level showed,” said RP skipper Michael Letts, a marauding fullback who was instrumental in the Volcanoes’ two tries.

Earlier, Iran overwhelmed Indonesia 48-6, in the third place game of the event backed by HSBC, Guinness, Philippine Sports Commission, Kukri, Gilbert, Overgaard, HMR, Jobiane, Genri, Seapac, Hardy’s Coke, Maxwear, Department of Tourism, Focused Business Solutions, RJH Consultancy, Brisbane Technologies and Murphy’s Bar.