PH Volcanoes crush Sri Lanka, 28-18

The Philippine Volcanoes have put the country on the world map of rugby on Saturday by grabbing the Division 1 crown of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Rugby Tournament after the team trounced Sri Lanka in the Finals, 28-18.

The historic victory earned the Philippine Rugby team a chance to compete in the 2013 HSBC Asian 5 Nations Championship for the first time.  

Oliver Saunders led the Volcanoes in the first half as he tallied three penalty kicks to go along with his two conversions. Joe Matthews and Mike Letts contributed two tries to post a 23–3 half time lead over Sri Lanka. 

The Sri Lankans came back in the second half by immediately knocking in a couple of tries followed by one conversion to put the scores at 23-15. A penalty kick even trimmed the lead to 5 points with over 25 minutes remaining in the game. But the Volcanoes showed determination and managed to pull away to secure the win for the Philippines. 

The Volcanoes will now have the chance to join the elite 2015 Rugby World Cup if they perform well at the Asian 5 Nations Top 5. They are also expected to climb the world rankings in the International Rugby Board (IRB) list after this successful run. The team is currently ranked No. 62.