‘Now I feel more Filipino than English’: rugby helps Philippines’ mixed-race stars discover love for mothers’ homeland
- Rob Fogerty and Ryan Howe are players from different parts of the world but feel a close connection thanks to their Filipino blood
- The Volcanoes’ main target this year is qualifying for the Olympic sevens tournament and winning gold at the Southeast Asian Games
Rob Fogerty grew up as an Englishman, his father made sure of that. Last year, he landed in Manila to play for the Philippines in the Asian Rugby Championships and met his grandparents from his Filipino mother’s side for the first time.
It was a surreal experience, for not only did the former England under-20 player connect with blood relatives he had never seen before, he also discovered just how Filipino he was.
Similarly, Ryan Howe was raised as a New Zealander in the Bay of Plenty. The full-blooded Filipinos in his school would hang out together. Despite being half Filipino, Howe “grew up as a Kiwi”.
Only when he travelled to Philippines did he feel a sense of belonging to a country both his parents largely ignored during his upbringing.
Fogerty and Howe are typical of the Philippines Volcanoes rugby squad; a band of brothers who travel to meet each other from the corners of the earth when the call comes to unite in a single cause – to take Philippines rugby to the next level.
