Honor and glory. These are the things that Filipino sports heroes aim to bring home to our country. Withstanding pain and hardship, athletes put it all on the line in the name of our country’s flag.
While few national squads pique the public’s interest, there are more athletes ceaselessly working behind the limelight for the love of their sport and their country. Take the national rugby team for example. Like beasts of burden, these big and brawny men remain steadfast and determined to see Philippine colors shine in international competitions.
Although often unnoticed, there’s more to these guys than sculpted physiques and revealing billboards. Through the support of Globe Telecom, our rugby team has been reaping awards for years, winning Gold in the 2005 Asian Games, Silver in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games and expects to enter the Asian Top Five and hopefully qualify for the Rugby World Cup in 2014.
Individually, they live normal lives. But as a team, they seek honor and glory as the Philippine Volcanoes. (BRYAN GARCIA)
Michael Letts
Team Captain
Position: Fullback
As fullback Michael Letts, Jake’s older brother, is the team’s general and its last line of defense; as captain he has led the Philippine Volcanoes to its greatest triumphs. Now Michael is about to embark on a new challenge: a professional rugby career. The 28-year-old is now playing with the Toyota Shokki Rugby Club in Nagoya, Japan.
“I was going to play rugby overseas some years ago but I got injured and I thought the opportunity was lost,” says the elegant national captain. “Luckily I was at the right place at the right time and the opportunity came up again. At the end of the day you can always go back to work, but you can’t play rugby forever.”
Austin Dacanay
Position: Loosehead prop
At 34, Austin is the oldest player on the team, hence the nickname “Lolo Austy”. The ever-dependable anchor of the scrum was raised in Canada, where he learned to play rugby in the arctic winds. Today he lives in Florida where it’s much warmer, and where he has a successful practice as a chiropractor.
“Each and every time I leave for a tour, I am torn about having to leave my practice in the capable hands of my employees, but I get so much support from my family, friends, and patients that I feel comfortable doing it. Once I get back, everyone is so interested in hearing the stories from abroad and living vicariously through me. It is my way of connecting with my patients and show them that I am human, and that I care and am sympathetic to their new and daily adventures with their health.”
Patrice Olivier
Position: Centre
Patrice Olivier has just signed with the AS Béziers Hérault rugby club in France. This is the first professional contract for the 21-year-old half-Filipino, half-French player.
“Patrice is very athletic for his position,” says Beziers trainer Pierre Baldwin. “He has the qualities of power and of penetration which make us believe that in the near future he will be a very good professional player. For the next season he will be integrated into the training center where he will sign his first contract as a rugby player.”
“We are very proud that Patrice has been selected for the Philippine national team,” adds trainer Diego Minarro. “This is for him an experience of the high level that will enable him to make even faster progress in the sport.”
Patrice first joined the Volcanoes last year for the Borneo 7s; this year he made his debut at the A5N tournament in Korea.
Gareth Holgate
Position: Centre
At 23, Gareth—Gaz—has led a fairly nomadic existence. He attended schools in Singapore and Malaysia before settling into prep school in Wales, then the University of Wales in Cardiff, where he majored in Architecture. After that he played rugby for clubs in Australia and Italy; he now lives in Japan, where he recently signed with the Kyuden Voltex team in Fukuoka.
Half-Welsh, Half-Kapampangan, Gaz has been a Filipino international since 2006, when he was the fly half of the national under-20s team. He was named Best Player for the Philippines at the A5N tournament in Korea in June. “My teammates and I, we’re brothers from another mother,” Gaz says. “They’re all hardworking so they make me look good.”
Phil Abraham
Position: Hooker
Phil started playing rugby as a student at the University of Illinois in Champaign and now plays for the Chicago Lions, one of the most competitive teams in the US. Currently a teacher in the Chicago public school system, he plans to go back to school for his master’s in Social Work. “The opportunity that rugby has given me to travel around the world has given me a global perspective of the needs of the majority of the people in world,” Phil declares. “It’s brought me out of the comfort zone and shelter I was brought up in and exposed me to new experiences. These experiences give me a perspective that motivates me on the field. There is no reason I can’t battle with every fiber of my being on the pitch for 80 minutes when others are battling for their lives 24/7.”
Oliver Saunders
Position: Fly half
Matthew Saunders
Position: Wing
Oliver Saunders followed his brother Matthew into the Philippine team, where they were joined by their youngest brother, Ben. “The 2007 SEA Games was our first time on the RP team, and it was a proud moment,” Oliver recalls, “representing the country with my two brothers.” As fly half it’s his job to call our orders and direct the team around the field, and having his brothers on the team makes it easier. “I know how they play and what they’re going to do, so I can focus on directing our forward pack.”
Off the pitch the Fil-Aussie brothers are just as close. Oliver, 25, and Ben, 18, are both into computer games so they play together a lot. Oliver and Matthew, 23, work together as electricians—these days you’ll find them strapping on harnesses and scaling mobile phone towers. “You climb the side of the tower—which is only five meters wide so it’s swaying the whole time—until your arms and legs are too tired, then you have to rest,” Matthew says. “So you take one of your harnesses and loop it around the post, then you let go. You dangle in the air until your arms and legs are rested.” That’s their day job; no wonder they love rugby.
Jake Letts
Position: Scrum half
Jake may not fit your idea of a huge, massive rugby player—he doesn’t have to be. Since 2005 he has been on both the national men’s and under-20s teams as the scrum half, the linchpin of the team—linking the power of the forwards to the speed of the backs. “That’s the beauty of the game,” he points out, “it suits all sizes and body types.” A native of Newport near Sydney in New South Wales, Jake grew up playing a variety of sports—cricket, softball, swimming, surfing, athletics, track—before deciding to specialize in rugby. He is currently taking his master’s in sports management. At 23 he’s one of the veteran Volcanoes.
“I don’t really take offence when critics say we are not real Filipinos,” Jake says. “In saying that, they mean we’re not real Australians, either! You can’t take away the fact that we have both Filipino and Australian blood running through us, and we are proud of it.”
Jaime Urquijo Zobel
Position: Flanker
Jaime was born in Spain, went to boarding schools in England, attended university in the United States, and now works for a private bank in New York. At eight he played his first game of rugby; he’s never stopped. At Notre Dame University he was captain of the rugby team, which he’d helped to reinstate as a varsity sport, and president of the Entrepreneurs Club. These days the 22-year-old scion of the Zobel de Ayala clan (his mother is Bea Zobel Jr) suits up for the Village Lions Rugby Club in New York.
Information Courtesy of MB / BRYAN B. GARCIA
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/330748/know-enrapturing-philippine-volcanoes
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