REINFORCED by two players from the Cebu Dragons, the Davao Durians finished fifth overall and crowned Bowl division title after crushing Palawan State University (PSU) Bearcats, 45-0, in the Palawan 7s Rugby Festival held at the City Sports Complex in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan over the weekend.
The Davao Durians earlier eked out victories of PSU Bearcats (19-0), Palawan Panthers (33-0) and Palawan Pirates (24-5), in their elimination games but lost to Cagayan de Oro Rafters (12-19), SKF Mavericks (0-17), Clark Jets (5-40) and Makati Chiefs (5-17).
Filipino-British James Halasan Ryan, the only child of British scientist Edward and Dabawenya nurse Fe, said, "It was very enjoyable playing with the Durians. Despite the very little time together, we really bonded as a team. The Cebu dragons who were competing in the U19 tournament generously lent us two players as injury cover. One was a junior with a Dabawenya mother, the other was a coach. They also contributed greatly to the team spirit. Thank you Dragons!"
The 17-year-old Ryan, who will start training this weekend with the Philippine U20 Volcanoes team that will compete in the Under-20 Asia Rugby Sevens Championships in Hong Kong, also assessed that the team's quality of play was very good.
"We were disciplined in defense and showed plenty of flair in attack. We were good in open play both in attack and defense. In the technical parts of the game our scrum and line out worked well. Our big weakness was kickoffs. At the kick off defenses are at their most spread and gives opportunities for teams to attack," Ryan said in a Facebook interview.
Ryan said the Durians were not able to practice kick off at all as the practice at the full size pitch was cancelled due to rain.
"The team conceded at least 8 tries from kick offs, the majority of tries we conceded, our Achilles heel!," He added.
The team was also composed of Alexander Dalhog, LeAllen Lara, Jan-Lawrence Olaco, Ruel John Halasan, Raphael Carlo Mancha, Geoffrey Veraces and Chico Ricamora along with Junior Durians Anthony Ronquillo, Uldarico Bande, Jr. and Daryl Ross Lomosbog with playing coach Hilton Soberano.