Azkals redux? Philippine Volcanoes rugby team's identity questioned

The Fiji Rugby Union drew the ire of Filipino netizens after posting a comment on its official Facebook and Twitter pages against the Philippine Volcanoes

 

"The only thing Philippines about the Philippine team playing in the Hong Kong 7s is the name of the team," it said.

 

The comment was made on the second day of the 2012 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens at the Hong Kong Stadium at Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, around the time the Philippines was playing a game against Zimbabwe.

 

Filipinos were quick to defend the Volcanoes on the social networking sites, clarifying that the members of the Philippine Rugby team are Filipino because their mothers are Filipinas.

 

Facebook users from the Philippines flooded the Fiji Rugby Union's site with messages, condemning what they viewed as "racist" comments against the Volcanoes.

 

At 11 p.m. Manila time, the Fijian Rugby Union posted a message on their Facebook page apologizing for their earlier comment:

 

"To all our friends from the Philippines an unreserved apology...there was never an intention to be racist or direspectful. it was a tongue in cheek comment that shouldn't have been made. Our humble apologies."

 

   Volcanoes drop 2 but shine still   Fiji, ranked 16th in the world in rugby, will play Argentina in the quarterfinals Sunday at 11:12am while the Philippines face Uruguay earlier in the day at 9:22am. The Philippine Volcanoes rugby team continued with its impressive showing at the 2012 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens Saturday in its debut in the premier sevens tournament in the world.   The Philippines, ranked 71st by the International Rugby Board, is one of the youngest teams to be invited in the prestigious tournament that hosts the best seven-a-side rugby teams in the world.   Second in prestige only to the Rugby World Cup, the Hong Kong Sevens attracts over a hundred thousand spectators to witness top quality rugby in the three-day event.   After a tough loss to world no. 13 Canada on Friday, the Philippines took on Spain Saturday morning. The game was tight in the first half, with world no. 19 Spain only managing to score one try to reach halftime with a precarious 7-0 lead.   In the second half, the Volcanoes' Patrice Olivier opened up the scoring with a try with no conversion, as the Philippines inched closer to Spain at 7-5. Spain responded to the Philippine attack, scoring two more tries to seal the win, 21-5.   Later in the day, the Volcanoes faced an inspired Zimbabwe, which earlier in the day upset Canada, 24-21.   The Philippines jumped to an early 12-0 lead  via two consecutive tries by Matt Saunders and Justin Coveney, but Zimbabwe, ranked 38 places higher than the Philippines at 33, fought back to score three tries to steal the game, 21-17.   The Philippines will face world no. 21 Uruguay early morning Sunday.  If the Volcanoes end up upsetting Uruguay, it will set up a final match against either world no. 62 China or world no. 59 Guyana. — ELR, GMA News