The history of rugby in the Philippines
Although no records exist it is almost certain that Rugby Union Football has been played in the Philippines since early in the 20th century. Following the conclusion of the Great War many expatriates came to work in the Philippines, a great percentage who were from the British Commonwealth, and they brought their games with them. The Nomad Sports Club, which was founded in 1914, hosted the only rugby played in Manila with only one or two Spanish-Filipinos saving it from being an all-expatriate game. The popularity of the game grew after World War Two and was again predominantly an expatriate sport. Most of the games then were intra-mural (the Reds vs. the Greens) and often were not full sides, however there were occasional visits from British or Commonwealth Naval Ships.
Nomads R.F.C. team from a 1972 game versus a touring side from Zambia.
standing: Jock Clark, Maurizio Tommassini, Peter Holt, Mike Pratt, John Baker, Rod Humphrey (Capt), Walt Fagestrom, Connal Rankin
kneeling: Jim Howard, John McCabe, Nigel Hogge, not known, Russel Lowe, George Amato, Peter Crismas, Barry Truex
During the 50’s and 60’s Nomads was located at the present site of the Dusit Hotel near the intersection of EDSA and Pasay Road in Makati. In 1969 when Makati started to become more developed and the land lease with Ayala Corp. expired, the club moved to its present site in Merville Park, Paranaque. With the improved facilities and a growing expatriate population, enthusiasm picked up and more games were played against visiting ships and touring sides from around Asia and Africa. There was also growing interest from the US military at the Clark and Subic military bases, where the gridiron players were quickly converted to rugby on arrival. Also the Nomads started to travel around the region and started up relationships with the Hong Kong Football Club and the Hong Kong Police Rugby Club, which have endured until today. In the mid 70’s a group of aficionados established an annual competition for the “Men of the East” Cup, which was always played in Manila.
Nomads R.F.C. team on tour in Singapore 1982
Back Row: Dave Reynolds, Steve Barker, John Winterman, Frank Merrill, Glenn Farmer, Mike Hodgkinson, Gary Crist, Jay Savage
Second Row: Tom Rowe, Vernon Turnbull, Tim Davis, Mike Smith, Dennis Brownlee, Robin Stephens
Lying down: Richard Dancy, Lester Harvey.
In 1988 it was decided to host an international ten-a-side tournament. Tens rugby was then a relatively new variation of the game but it has rapidly grown in stature and the Manila Tens now in it’s 20th year, and traditionally held the weekend before the Hong Kong 7’s is recognized as one of the premier 10’s tournaments in the region and has become an accepted warm up for the prestigious Hong Kong 10’s.
In 1999 a small group of Nomads players decided to organise a Philippine Rugby Football Union with the aim of joining the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU). New clubs were formed and the early years of the 21st century saw a steady expansion of the game in the islands culminating in full membership of ARFU being attained in 2002.
The first new club was the Alabang Eagles which had at its core the aim of developing Filipino players. This was followed by the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific, the Makati Chiefs, the Philippine Air Force,the Cebu Dragons, Manila Hapons and very recently the Baretto Blues. High School rugby is played at Brent International School, International School of Manila and Faith Academy with the British School having an active touch program. Ladies touch is played by the all the major clubs and schools with Nomads Bullettes and the University of the Philippines being particularly active. At present there are development programs at HMR Santa Rosa, the National Police Academy and Adventist University.
The Philippine national team has played six full international games sanctioned by the International Rugby Board (IRB) since 2006 winning four.
The Philippines achieved full I.R.B member status in November 2008.
Images courtesy of John Baker and Jay Savage
