Beijing side sows seeds for future
THE packed Carlsberg 10s crowd were given a glimpse of rugby's face in the 21st century yesterday when a big-striding but glaringly raw Beijing Agricultural University (BAU) side became the first team from mainland China to play in an international tournament.
BAU lost all three matches, including a derby encounter with the all-Chinese Hong Kong Dragons, but showed good handling and running skills for a team with no pedigree and only a four-year history in the game.
The University side are acknowledged as the best of the 34 teams playing the game in China and if their rate of progress continues they will feature in many more overseas events.
After going down 54-0 to the Funky Gibbons from Australia and 24-0 to fellow students, Edinburgh University, BAU were involved in a full-blooded encounter with Hong Kong Dragons.
The Chinese team engineered a 14-12 lead with a few minutes remaining but a lack of experience and failure to play to the final whistle cost them dear. They gave away a penalty try and then were caught napping as Alex Fong nipped down the blind side to score in the corner to give the Dragons a 24-14 win.
'We have never come up against opposition like this in China so we struggled a bit,' said their captain E Hela Si. 'We thought we had won against Dragons but they are more experienced and scored two tries late in the match.
'We have learnt a lot from these games and as a result I think the standard will improve. A lot of people in China are asking how they can play rugby - it is a good sport and I'm sure it will become more popular.' Hong Kong Dragons, who are still learning the game but have a few years start on BAU, were relieved at the victory.
Another derby match, this time of the South Pacific variety, really brought the tournament alive.
Davetalevu, the Fijian side who have won the Singapore Sevens for the past two years, and the Cook Island Barbarians served up a high-intensity match of contrasting styles.
The Fijians were the more skilful but the Cook Islanders tackled well and were quick to counter attack.
They led 7-5 midway through the second half but a decision to kick a penalty backfired when the attempt missed.
That inspired Davetalevu into one final surge and former Fiji international hooker Isaia Rasila scored the winning try on the whistle.
'I think we would have done better if we had less players on the field - it was a bit congested,' said Jone Lotu, the Davetalevu manager after the 12-7 win. 'We are more a sevens side and today was the first time many of the guys had played 10s. But I think that we are improving and have a chance of winning.' Although losing to Davetalevu, Cook Island Barbarians qualified for the Cup quarter-finals as the best runners-up from the six pools and could still feature in the latter stages today.
Defending champions Aliens, with the seemingly evergreen Scott Pierce looking sharp, Cathay Pacific Flyers from Australia and Natal Pelicans, are the other teams with the potential to go all the way.
Aliens now take on Funky Gibbons in the Cup quarter-finals with the Flyers facing a tough last-eight encounter with Davetalebu. Natal Pelicans take on the Cook Island Barbarians while Asian Cavaliers, the late replacement for White Hart Marauders, will again faceup to Hongkong Football Club following their 5-5 draw which saw both teams qualify from Pool E.
