Good Things Come In Threes. The final week of July is proving to be a great week for Filipina athletes.
First, the week commenced with the Filipinas, the Philippines Women National Football team beating host nation New Zealand 1-0 at home in their capital city of Wellington. In their First World Cup appearance.
The second, the Philippine Blu Girls national Soft Ball team pulling off a pair of gritty victories over New Zealand, 5-3, and Italy, 6-5 at the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage in Castions di Strada, Italy.
Finally the week has ended with the third good thing. The Sampaguitas, the Philippines International Women Rugby League team climbing 5 places from their 2022 ranking to number 14. The highest rank any Philippine International team in a World sport!
The climb in ranking is important for the Sampaguitas, who are aiming to represent the Philippines in the 2029 Rugby League World Cup!
The rise in ranking was achieved with their defeat of Greece 38-0 in an International Rugby League game at the beginning of the year. This win was accomplished without the team’s two professional players in Renee Targett and Jasmine Peters. Who play in the NRLW competition in Australia, the toughest and hardest Women’s Rugby League tournament in the world!
President Reynaldo Nery of the Pambansang Ragbi Liga Ng Pilipinas the governing body of the sport of Rugby League in the Philippines commented:
“This is a wonderful achievement not just for the PNRL but for Philippines female rugby league development.”
“It’s important we keep progressing our women’s national team which has only been two-to-three years in the making.
“Keeping this team active and playing competitive internationals means improved World Rankings and hopefully representing the Philippines in a Rugby League World Cup in the near future.
“This achievement will certainly become a focal point for our pursuit of government funding, recruitment drive and female junior pathways, and with our junior development programme soon to kick off in Manila we anticipate a healthy turnout of domestic female participants.
“Well done to Sampaguitas head coach Tammy Fletcher and her coaching staff for the hard work they put in against Malta and Greece. They have built a well-balanced team who continue to impress and give their all for their country.”
With further funding and support the Philippines may again see another Women’s National team represent at another International sport showing the world the depth and talent of the countries female athletes.
About the PNRL
RNPL Australia Incorporated is the Australian chain and affiliate of Pambansang Ragbi Liga Ng Pilipinas (PNRL) the governing body of Rugby League Football in the Philippines. Its mission is to enable all Filipinos to have a healthy lifestyle through their participation in Rugby League Football and to be competitive amongst the Asian Rugby League playing nations. The PNRL focus is the promotion, development, and efficient administration of Rugby League in the Philippines. The PNRL is non-profit volunteer organization, who are a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission. The Philippines is a member of the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC) and an observer member of the International Rugby League (IRL).
