Hong-Kong Based Rob Fogerty is Part of Coaching Setup For Philippines Unions Cup 2026

rugbyasia247 Posted On July 10, 2026

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Rob Fogerty - Philippines Men's player - Unions Cup 2026 coach

Rob Fogerty is a well-known player in the Filipino and Hong Kong rugby communities. He has represented the Philippines national 7s and XV teams, and plays with Valley RFC in the Hong Kong Premiership while also leading their Youth Rugby. He has now stepped up into a coaching role with the Philippines Volcanoes national Men’s XV team as they look to defend their Unions Cup 2026 title.

Rob Fogerty is a former England Counties U20 player and Harlequins Academy player – he has serious rugby pedigree. As a seasoned rugby player and personal trainer, he understands the pressures and strains of this sport. He has more than a decade of experience in personal training and holds a Bachelor of Science in Strength and Conditioning from St Mary’s University, Twickenham.

As a player, his other accolades include captaining the Philippine Men’s National 7’s team and winning gold at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines and playing in high-profile tournaments such as the 2019 Hong Kong 7’s and 2023 Asian Games, as well as the 2025 South East Asian Games – last year he was in the squad that won the second edition of the Unions Cup in their first appearance.

Photo Credit – Mr Wu / CTRFU – Philippines are Unions Cup 2025 champions

When Rob Fogerty announced he was taking up the Assistant Coaching with the national XVs team, he posted online, “With tremendous pride and humility, I am excited to take on the opportunity of coaching the Philippine Men’s 1st XV ahead of the 2026 Unions Cup in Bangkok, Thailand this coming July. It’s time to see things through a different lens and contribute off the field to a jersey, country and brotherhood that are too great for me to be able to articulate in words.’

The tournament takes place from 12-18 July in Bangkok, and the defending champions will face Laos first-up – the fellow SEA nation is playing their first Men’s XV Test since November 4, 2017, which was against Thailand. When the Phillipines played last year, it was their first Men’s Test since 2019.

The formation of SEARF has reignited impetus for XVs Test matches and regular tournaments in the region, something which Asia Rugby has dropped the ball on in recent years.

Fogerty is working with Head Coach Josh Sutcliffe and told Rugby Asia 247 about playing regular XV Tests, “Game time for our players is imperative; since the pandemic the amount of test matches and exposure for our players has been limited, so to get three competitive test matches in the space of 10 days is something the players & coaching staff are grateful for and will embrace.”

Photo Credit – Mr Wu / CTRFU- Philippines Men’s XV – Unions Cup 2025

Rob Fogerty added about stepping into the coaching role, “I am extremely excited to coach this team and give back to a programme and union that has played a huge part in my rugby development as a player over the years.

I’m keen to see things through the coaching lens and add value off the pitch to further the development of Philippine Rugby players and get us back into the conversation as one of the most competitive teams in Asia.”

Unions Cup 2026 Expectations – Rob Fogerty

The tournament is spread across three matchdays on the 12th, 15th and 18th July and features a record number of teams in 2026, just the third edition of the tournament – it’s likely the biggest Asian Men’s XV tournament ever.

The Thailand Rugby Union is hosting, with Singapore and Chinese Taipei both returning, and debut appearances from Laos, Guam, and Malaysia. The 8th team is an Asian Barbarians side comprising a mix of players.

Of the Philippines’ expectations for the tournament and the first match against Laos, Fogerty explained, “We are going into the tournament as defending champions; without doubt, we are going into the tournament with the belief that we can come away successful; however are fully aware of the strengths that Singapore and Thailand possess.

Photo Credit – PRFU – Philippines Men’s XV – Unions Cup 2026 Squad Photo (Bangkok)

He explained of the first match on Sunday 12th July at NKRAFA (Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Air Force Academy) in Bangkok (2PM local time):

“Laos are an unknown team but a deserved inclusion in this tournament. I believe the first time these two nations will meet in the 15’s format, we will treat them with the utmost respect. We are aware they are a proud nation & rugby is developing in the region. We must control our game & with the intelligence of our playing group negate their key players.”

With the inclusion of Malaysia, a team that has tasted Division 1 Asia Rugby Championship in recent years and a quality playing group and coaching staff, we must be prepared to go to greater levels than we showed last year if we are going to challenge them.

We will keep a close eye on their first match against Thailand & look to study their game as we expect to meet them in the later rounds.”

Unions Cup 2026 Schedule

The Volcanoes are the highest-ranked team at the tournament (52nd in the world).

Unions Cup 2026 Tournament Schedule

Sunday 12th July 2026

(numbers in brackets are World Rugby rankings)

(1) A1: Philippines (52) vs Laos (103)
(2) A2: Singapore (64) vs Barbarians Asia

Livestream Link

(3) B1: Thailand (72) vs Malaysia (53)
(4) B2: Chinese Taipei (67) vs Guam (69)

Livestream Link

Wednesday 15 July 2026 Semifinals

(5) A1 loss vs. B1 loss
(6) A2 loss vs. B2 loss
(7) A1 WIN VS B1 WIN
(8) A2 WIN VS B2 WIN

Saturday 18 July 2026 Finals

7th place: Loser 5 vs Loser 6
5th place: Winner 5 vs Winner 6
3rd place: Loser 7 vs Loser 8
Final: Winner 7 vs Winner 8

Crowdfunding to Support the Volcanoes Unions Cup 2026 Participation

The Volcanoes national team has had to fundraise to get back to the tournament to defend the title – you can see more here if you would like to support the Philippines Men’s XV reach their target goals.

A year ago, Volcanoes title-winning Head Coach Josh Sutcliffe told us moments after they won the Unions Cup at their first attempt:

‘The biggest thing is that this hopefully raises our profile. Anytime you win, people want to hear about it – if it ends up on the front page of the news or trends on social media posts or whatever it happens to be – we hope that sponsors want to help us out.

Our players self-funded this trip and paid for their time here, and for their flights over. We just want to make sure more players get the opportunity to play, not just the ones who can afford it. We want the best playing group, but also we have players here who were inspired by the group from 2012-2019, and they are playing in this team now.”