NO DOUBT about his heart. Filipino-British James Halasan Ryan had long been playing for Davao City and the Philippines in several regional, national and international competitions.
But this time, the 17-year-old multi-athlete will don the country's colors when he suits up for the Philippine national Under-19 (U19) rugby football team as a certified Filipino citizen after he took an oath of allegiance with the Philippines in the presence of Consul Voltaire Mauricio of the Philippine Embassy in London last December 2.
Ryan, 17, who is the only child of British scientist Edward and Dabawenya nurse Fe, was invited to suit up for the national U19 team that will compete in the newly-reformed Asian Rugby Division 1 Championships. The Philippines will compete against Korea, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates on December 14 to 17.
The invitation was sent to him by Philippine Rugby Football Union/Philippine Volcanoes head of national teams general manager Jake Letts last September following his impressive showing in the Philippine U18 Junior Volcanoes team that competed in Taiwan last August
27 to 29.
Ryan, who also formed part of the U16 Junior Volcanoes squad that competed in Malaysia last year, arrived in Manila Wednesday, December 7, where he will join the rest of the U19 team for camp and training.
Ryan, in a Facebook interview with VoxPop Davao, said, "Being a Filipino citizen will have many advantages. If I am travelling with Philippine team to a foreign country, it will make it much easier going through immigration," he said, adding that in their last trip for the Taiwan event, some of his teammates and staff of the team had difficulty getting back into the Philippines since they are not citizens.
"It also means it will be easier to show my eligibility if I am selected for the national team at a higher age or in another sport," he said.
Ryan had played for Davao City in judo and wrestling events of past Batang Pinoy regional and national championships, winning gold medals and silvers.
The judo blackbelt also said that his father plans to have his "gap year" in the country to concentrate on sport and also do some studying to give him a head start at the university.
The "gap year", according to him, pertains to the years "you finish school but before you start university".
He admitted that he liked the idea of the sport but not necessarily the studying part. Ryan is a consistent A student in school where he attends in the United Kingdom.
In an earlier interview for the Davao Yearbook 2016, he aims to study Dentistry at a university and work as a dentist but his ultimate dream is playing Rugby 7s and winning gold in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, play rugby professionally then play for England and win a rugby World Cup.
He also plays football, squash, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
