MANILA, Philippines—Buoyed by its surprising silver medal finish in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games, the national rugby team has started preparing for the 2009 SEAG in Laos.

Boosted by several foreign-based players, the Philippine squad left Tuesday for Guam to compete against two respected rugby teams—Guam and Brunei—in the Guam regional tournament starting Wednesday at the Wettengel Field in the city of Dededo.

The 29-man RP team will face Brunei on Wednesday before meeting Guam on Saturday.

Carrying the monicker “Volcanoes,” the RP squad enters the tournament as the top contender, having beaten Guam twice—18-14 in 2006 and a 39-3 rout last June in Manila.

A newly crafted trophy—the Magellan Cup—will be contested by Guam and the Philippines, with RP coach Matthew Cullen expected to depend heavily on veterans Jake and Michael Letts, Andrew Barbacetto, Roman Barberis, Noel Flowers and Clay Luraschi.

Other members of the team are actor Andrew Wolff, Rupert Zappia, Mark Chatting, Austin Dacanay, Francisco Guerra IV, Jeffrey Betinol, Michael and Francisco Duhig, Philip Pratte, Ronald Pena and Oliver Otterbeck;

Maxwell Stewart, Harry Morris, Gareth Holgate, Oliver and Matthew Saunders, Kim Hilis, John Munro, David Carman and Joshua Sutcliffe with Philip Campbell as manager.

The RP rugby team bagged the silver in Thailand despite being formed just a few months before the competition.