Rugby: Volcanoes find fuel in home crowd for historic World Cup campaign

The Philippine Volcanoes are riding a lot of momentum coming into their final match at the Asian 5 Nations Division 1 tournament being held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The home team will play unbeaten Sri Lanka on Saturday at 5pm for the championship as part of the 2015 Rugby World Cup Qualifiers. A win against Sri Lanka will earn the team a spot at the Asian 5 Nations tournament - a competition for the top five rugby teams in Asia. The winner of the 2014 Asian 5 Nations will earn an outright berth at the 2015 World Cup in England. World Cup spot a reality for the Philippines Volcanoes coach Expo Mejia explained that although Sri Lanka is 19 places above the Philippine in the world rankings, the home team has a clear shot at winning the division championship, as part of the journey towards a World Cup slot from the Asian 5 Nations tournament. "We're not favorites to win this but we really put ourselves in a good position to win this tournament and then we're only one step away, really, because it will be a matter of not coming last next year in the top five and then in the following year, gaining the experience of playing in the top five coming down to the top two which we think is a realistic goal," he said. "At that stage, we've been pressing for the last three years and the results have been showing and I think we're capable of earning one of the top two spots for qualification to the World Cup. It's a dream of ours and something that we're working for." The World Cup Qualifiers organizers clarified that failing to win the Asian 5 Nations tournament will not be the end for the other Asian clubs, as the runner-up finisher in 2014 will play in the Repechage. The Repechage pits runner-up teams from Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe against each other, with the winner claiming the final slot in the 2015 Cup. This gives the Volcanoes an extra opportunity to make it to the big stage, especially with world number 14 Japan competing in the Asian 5 Nations. Volcanoes turn to crowd for support in Saturday's win-or-go-home situation With the team on the cusp of making history, the Volcanoes look forward to the support of their home crowd in the most significant game of their campaign thus far. "It's very important for us to be playing at home because we've had some good results over the years and our fans have been really wanting us to play here. They've seen us on TV or on Facebook. They've always been asking for a home game and we're very fortunate to have that home support," Mejia stressed. - AMD, GMA News