The Philippines have returned to International Rugby League with a commanding performance, beating Brasil 40-8 at Kensington Oval in Sydney.
After a two-year absence from official competition, the Tamaraws led from start to finish, but were held accountable by a plucky Brazilian squad.
Interchange pocket rocket Tyrone Tootell put the game beyond doubt with two tries in three minutes after halftime, after the match was poised 24-4 at the break.
The highly physical affair saw the Tamaraws muscle up through the middle and string together plenty of passes as they looked to sap the South Americans of energy.
Former Canberra Raiders lower grader Rez Phillips, now almost 32, was back to his imposing best around the ruck, while the entire Tamaraws pack ran with gusto.
Ex Melbourne Storm playmaker Paul Sheedy skippered the three-time Asian champions and was a chief architect in changing the direction of play and keeping their opponents on their toes.
For Brasil, five-eighth Pedro Guzzo scored two length-of-the-field efforts, including one in the 10th minute that had the game 6-4 in the Philippines’ advantage.
Forwards Hector Hilberto, Heitor Fleury and Simon De Araujo all played big minutes, much of it in defence, but never gave up despite the scoreline.
Both teams were cheered on by Fijian team Kaiviti Silktails, who treated the players and crowd to a moving hymn after the Philippines accepted the Magellan Trophy.
In terms of atmosphere the match was unlike anything seen before in International Rugby League, with both Filipino and Brazilian barbecues cooking on the sidelines, drum bands, martial arts performers, dancers and plenty of passionate supporters from both nations.
Brasil plans to suit up again in October for a scheduled game against Turkey.
It was noted that in the first two games between the Philippines and composite Latin American teams, the scores were 114-0 and 80-4, with the latest encounter showing improvement over time by all individual Latino nations.
PHILIPPINES 40 (Tyrone Tootell 2, Ned Stephenson, Thomas Cartwright, Paul Sheedy, Dylan Jones, Rez Phillips, Jacob Godfrey tries; Marc Russell 3, Thomas Cartwright goals) beat BRASIL 8 (Pedro Guzzo 2 tries).
PHILIPPINES: Richie Goodwin, Jhun Cortez, Ned Stephenson, Dennis Gordon, Thomas Cartwright, Gerald Reyes, Marc Russell, Glenn Powers, Paul Sheedy ©, Dylan Jones, Jeremy Grooms, Ryan Jones, Rez Phillips. Interchange: Tryone Tootell, Jacob Godfrey, Chris Murphy, Kingsley Leabres.
BRASIL: Steven Braga, Vinicius Guedes Silva, Donovan Barreira, Ravi Araujo, Paulo Rubia, Pedro Guzzo, Dylan Nunes ©, Mark Jackson ©, Simon De Araujo, Heitor Fleury, Juan Casanova, Rubens Gomes, Hector Hilberto. Interchange: Heitor Hilberto, Ricardo Levy, Connor Howison, Rodrigo Rezende.
