Pinoy-Aussie team wows crowd in int'l rugby tilt

MANILA, Philippines - A team composed of Filipino-Australians surprised the audience in the recent Cabramatta International 9s, an international rugby competition that started on Feb. 2 in New South Wales, Australia.

In a report by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Consul General Anne Jalando-on Louis, together with Consul Marford Angeles and Cultural Officer Rachel Calisin, congratulated the Philippine Airlines Tamaraws who won two matches on their first season on the competition.

The Tamaraws won against a more experienced team from Cook Islands with a score of 12-10.

Louis noted that the league has now grown into three teams with a total of 120 players who proudly wear Philippine colors in the international competition.

Philippine Consulate officials also met Carmilo Manuyag and Odyssey Laderas, members of the Tamaraws who came from Auckland, New Zealand.

Erick Elefante, secretary of the Philippine National Rugby League, said it was the first time that a team with players of Asian background made it to the top of their pool and won in the first tier of the tournament's elimination round.

Two other Philippine teams, the Philippine National Development Team and Philippines National Development/U20 Team, reached the quarterfinals of their respective pools. The teams won against Italy and Greece but bowed to Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

Elefante said the national rugby league's showing in the competition is a welcome achievement as the Philippine teams enter their second year in the international rugby league.