Shanghai Rugby Sevens: Philippine Volcanoes shock South Koreans

MANILA—The Philippine Volcanoes shocked defending champion and No. 1 seed South Korea, 19-14, Saturday to pace Group 2 in the second phase of the Shanghai Rugby Sevens.

The Philippines, though, absorbed two straight defeats but regrouped in time to repulse Thailand, 22-0, Sunday to conclude its campaign in the Shanghai sevens for a seventh place finish.

The Volcanoes yielded to  Kazakhstan, 5-12, and China, 10-24.

Lightly regarded by the opposition before the tournament,  the Filipinos earlier crushed the United Arab Emirates, 24-7, before defeating the Koreans.

“We only started playing sevens in 2007 and it has taken us three years to get the experience required and to find a game plan that suits our style,” said Philippines’ coach Matt Cullen.

Like the Philippine Azkals, the fifth-ranked Volcanoes is made up largely of Filipinos with foreign roots, including Australians and Britons, and a sprinkling of homegrown players.

The team is made up of Mark Chatting, Justin Coveney, Chris Everingham, Chris Hitch, Jake Letts, Jon Morales, Harry Morris, Oliver Saunders, Kenny Stern, Eric Tai, Andrew Wolff and Rupert Zappia.

The Shanghai Sevens is the first stop in the HSBC Asian Sevens Series and hosts the top 12 sides from the continent.