Volcanoes kick off Asia Rugby Sevens versus Koreans

MANILA, Philippines — After their absence in the Asian Games, the Philippine Volcanoes return to international action as they vie in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series’ kick-off leg beginning today at Kings Park in Hong Kong.

A pool of 16 players has been assembled and underwent high-performance training in Calamba to gear up for the tourney, which features the Top 8 rugby 7s teams in the continent.

“It’s been a very competitive training camp,” said Volcanoes’ performance manager Chris Everingham. “We have six new potential debutants who are looking to secure a national jersey for the first time. It’s a fresh new team, an exciting time for the Volcanoes.”

Phl faces a tall order in the two-day meet with two podium finishers in the recent Asiad, champ Hong Kong and bronze medalist Korea as well as 2017 Southeast Asian Games ruler Malaysia as groupmates in Pool B.

The Volcanoes start their campaign today against the Koreans at 2:42 p.m. then hit the field again at 6 p.m. against SEAG rival Malaysia and face Hong Kong Saturday noon, seeking a Top 2 finish in the group to advance to the Cup semifinals.

Japan, the silver medalist in the Indonesia Asiad, banners Pool A, which also includes Sri Lanka, China and Chinese Taipei.

The Hong Kong meet serves as opener for the three-leg Sevens Series, which will have succeeding stops in Korea on Sept. 29-30 and Sri Lanka on Oct. 13-14.