THE PHILIPPINE Volcanoes, brimming with confidence, take on Singapore in the main game of a twinbill as the Asian Rugby Division 1 championship fires off at Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan.
The top-ranked national men’s rugby squad will be bannered by pros from leagues in Japan, the United States, Australia and Britain in its 4 p.m. match against the No. 4 Singaporeans.
Second-seeded Sri Lanka takes on No. 3 Kazakhstan at 2 p.m. with the winner setting up a title clash with either the Philippines or Singapore on Saturday.
“We’re fairly confident we’ll beat Singapore and be in the finals,” said Matt Cullen, a director of the Philippine Rugby Football Union.
The Volcanoes handily defeated the Singaporeans, 37-20, to win the 2012 Asian 5 Nation Division 1 tournament held at Rizal Memorial Stadium field.
Justin Coveney, who plays in Japan, will join forces with PH team captain Oliver Saunders, veteran Jake Letts, Matt Bellenie, David Feeney, Ashley Heward, Terry Carrol, Benjamin Mudie, Steve Howorth, Harry Morris, Timothy Bweheni, Austin Dacanay, Michael Duhig, Jeff Gregson and Gareth Holgate.
Other members of the team are Phil Abraham, Masayuki Sekiguchi, David Robinson-Polkey, Fred Morris, Christopher Anderson, Cleo Gomez, Daniel Matthews and Alex Aronson.
“We’re all very excited to be playing in front of a home crowd,” said Saunders.