By MARK REY MONTEJO
The Philippine men’s rugby team completed its domination with a 23-6 annihilation of Thailand in the finals of 2025 Unions Cup at the Kaohsiung National Stadium in Taiwan late Saturday, July 12.
Despite being the newest squad in the meet, the Volcanoes displayed great courage and poise especially in the second half that saw them rip the game wide apart after leading only by 2, 8-6 in the first half.
James Ryan and Ned Stephenson led the Filipino assault en route to their first title in six years.
This after the Nationals went on a six-year respite on the international stage due to pandemic – their last competition was in 2019 Asia Rugby Championship Division 1 where it also won the top honor.
Prior to their title win, the Philippines tamed reigning champion Singapore, 37-20, in the opening round last Wednesday.
The Josh Sutcliffe-mentored crew is bannered by team captain Kai Kristian Stroem and vice skipper Craig Wallace, Ryan, Stephenson, Thomas Reyes, Lawrence Reboso, Kian Mulholland, Dylan Davies, Christopher Flores, Edlen Hernandez, Hamis Seddon, Vincent Young, Judd Greenhalgh, Michael Blatchies, and Patrice Olivier.
