The Philippine Volcanoes are expected to show up in their most tenacious form when they clash with a dangerous Sri Lankan side in the finals of the Asian Rugby Championship Division 1 tournament at 6 p.m. today.
Volcanoes skipper Oliver Saunders said Sri Lanka is gifted with a rough but quick manpower that can undermine the Filipinos in front of the home crowd at Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan.
“It will be a tough game. They have a strong forward pack and skillful backs,” said Saunders. “We will need to be clinical with our exit strategy and at set piece.”
The Volcanoes narrowly defeated the Tuskers, 26-25, in the Asian 5 Nations in Colombo last year.
The top-ranked Volcanoes survived fourth-ranked Singapore in extra time, 20-17, last Wednesday while the second-seeded Tuskers dumped No. 3 Kazakhstan, 35-14, to arrange the championship clash.
Singapore and Kazakhstan dispute third at 4 p.m.