More exposure for Lady Volcanoes expected

WITH THE success of the goodwill match between the Philippine Lady Volcanoes and the Singapore National Ladies rugby team last Saturday at the Cebu International School (CIS) in Pit-os, expect more exposure for the Philippine squad this year.

Simon Hoyle, the pioneer of rugby in Cebu and the present chairman of the Cebu City Rugby Football Club, said that a lot of international teams showed interest in playing the Lady Volcanoes in the country.

The Philippine squad lost to the experienced Singapore team, 36-10, in the 1st International Ladies 15s Rugby Football Challenge  but Hoyle believes the Philippine team played well.

“They still managed to pull off an impressive performance even though [they] are still a very young team compared to the veteran Singaporeans.”

According to Hoyle, the Lady Volcanoes, which has 11 players from the Visayas, will be in Manila on June 13 to 15 to compete in an international tournament initiated by HSBC.If the Lady Volcanoes will be victorious in this tournament, Hoyle said they will be pitted against the highly rated Laos team later this year.

Meanwhile, the Cebu team will be hosting a friendly tournament against Hong Kong’s national team. The game is expected to be on Aug. 18./CORRESPONDENT DALE G. ROSAL