bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

LIKE some merchant of yore, Zhang Junhui has travelled down the Silk Road in search of fame and adventure, but not fortune.

 For China's number one second-rower knows very well that there is no money to be found in playing rugby for his country - amateurs in every sense.

 But the lure of the unknown and the spirit of a soldier has seen Zhang embark on a journey of discovery which this past week has brought him into port, in Hong Kong.

 Built like Jonah Lomu - he stands at 1.96 metres and weighs in at 128 kilograms - Zhang is Chinese rugby's biggest player at the moment. He says there are more like him in the vast outer reaches of China.

 'We have still not picked the best people as yet. If rugby in China can start picking the best we will become very strong . . . very soon,' says Zhang with a hint of a smile.

 Foreboding words indeed for opponents (as the Hong Kong Dragons have learnt first-hand). But these same words will delight people at the International Rugby Board (IRB) which last year accepted China as its 76th member.

 Welshman Vernon Pugh, the IRB chairman, has said that he expects China to one day become a rugby superpower. Pugh knows it will take time. Maybe a decade or two.

 It is players like Zhang who are laying the groundwork and foundation for a great future. The rugby pioneer from Xinjiang province is well aware of the importance of his task.

 'I'm very proud to be at the helm. I know it will take time, but it is great to be a part of something valuable. I know that in my time we will never become a strong force. However, I will try to pass on to the younger players what I learn,' says Zhang.

 Rugby is the newest sport in China. It is only in the past six or seven years that the game has taken root, thanks in no small way to the efforts of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU), and in particular two individuals - George Simpkin, the former HKRFU technical director, and K.K. Chiu, the present assistant director of development.

 Zhang himself was roped in by Simpkin, who spotted the hulking lieutenant-colonel in the PLA, at a sports training seminar in Guangzhou in 1995.

 'I had travelled from Xinjiang down to Guangzhou to take part in an advanced basketball coaching clinic when George [Simpkin] saw me. It was an accident . . . he was very persuasive and I got involved in rugby.'  For 12 years Zhang played a central role in the People's Liberation Army basketball team. He then turned coach at 29. Two years later he made the fateful trip from his outpost close to the Tibet border to the southern stretch of China - along the ancient Silk Road.

 'I came to learn more about basketball. But I ended up in the PLA rugby team. I did not know what rugby was all about. I had seen a little bit of American football on TV but this was totally different.'  However, it was not long before Simpkin turned him into the number-one prospect in the second row, a position he has cemented.

 Zhang was in the China team who lost their first international match against Singapore last November. After that 33-3 humbling, this past fortnight's two games against the Hong Kong Dragons have been their only exposure to 'international' rugby.

 'The more exposure we get, the more quickly we will improve. There is not much opposition for us inside China. Our technique will get better only if we play against foreign teams.'  With the formation of the Chinese Rugby Football Association last year, China have now been formally accepted into the international arena. In October they will take part alongside the rest of Asia at the biennial Asian tournament in Singapore. Then they hope to send a team to the Asian Games in Bangkok in December where rugby will be a medal sport for the first time.

 'We have come a long way since our first game against Singapore. It has only been a few months but our playing concepts and skills have improved.

 'We have to thank the Hong Kong rugby union for all the help they continue to give us,' added Zhang.

 The HKRFU sends coaches, equipment etc, to Guangzhou regularly. It is this southern port - where the PLA Sports Institute is based - which is the hub of the game in China at the moment, although Beijing and Shanghai also boast centres of rugby excellence.

 'My whole life has been spent inside China. Because of rugby, I have now travelled to Singapore and Hong Kong. I'm very grateful for that but my ambition is to see China become a force in Asia,' said Zhang.

 As for conquering the world, Zhang knows it won't be in his playing lifetime. But the rugby merchant from Xinjiang is not worried. He knows the steps he takes today will ensure the future of the game in China.



Zhang takes first steps on China's long march to success