AMW China
16-12-2005, 08:05
China Rugby League and Union
Founded in the 1950s as the Hong Kong Rugby Union, the HKRU was merged with the Chinese League in 1997 to become the Chinese Rugby League and Union (CRLU). The CRLU has achieved financial stability, fast growing membership, and international renown, something neither of the two previous clubs could do. The CLRU owns the Warriors franchise and organises both International Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Sevens. It is affiliated with the IRB and the IRL. For the past financial year, the CRLU generated a surplus of $4.5 million. On any weekend in China 75,000 children, teenagers, and adults play rugby in games organised by the CRLU. A massive achievement for a sport that only a decade ago was played almost exclusively by rural universities and the People's Liberation Army.
The most famous team affiliated with the CRLU is the Warriors, which was financially supported by the CRLU. Officially formed in 2005 just in time to compete for the second season of the IRL from players involved in both league and union, the Warriors quickly gained a national following after winning the first six games.
Facilities
The CRLU owns three stadiums each capable of seating 85,000 : Hong Kong Stadium which is also famous for hosting the Sevens tournaments regularly, Beijing Stadium, and Taipei Stadium. Neither of these are ideal venues for rugby, as league season coincides with monsoon season in Hong Kong and Taipei, and with the subzero temperatures of midwinter in Beijing. Currently the CRLU is looking at purchasing building a stadium in Chengdu for the Warriors exclusively instead of the current arrangement, in which the Warriors share training space with the Chinese Sevens team and Rugby Union team.
Personnel
The Warriors are coached by former All Blacks coach Graham Hart, fired after the 1999 World Cup upset. He has performed well thus far, handling media and developing players.
The Chief Executive of the CRLU is Richard Branson, former owner of the Virgin group companies. Under his guidance revenue generated by the CRLU's games tripled.
Warriors players
The Warriors are affiliated with six feeder clubs – the Southern China Rugby League, Nanjing City, New Frontiers Rugby League, Taiwan Rugby League, Kowloon, and Heilongjiang Rugby League. Many of the players such as five-eights Karl Spencer are foreign purchases, unwanted by their previous countries and clubs. Other players are former Union players, and some are even affiliated with both codes.
The following players have been named for season 2 of the IRL competition.
Fullback - Chen
Winger - Sitivatu
Winger - Chou
Centre - Lee
Centre - Hui
5/8 - Karl Spencer
Halfback - Ming
Hooker - Wong
Prop Forward - Lim
Prop Forward - Woo
Second Row Forward - Marshall
Second Row Forward - Collins
Lock - Everly
Subs:
Lau (Forward)
Greenwood (Forward)
Larkham (Forward)
Qian (Forward)
Wei (Forward)
Carter (Back)
Ting (Back)
Charleston (Back)
Wing-Lee (Back)
Player information
Karl Spencer (Five Eights)
Weight : 98kg
60m Sprint Time : 7.9s
100m Sprint Time : 11.7s
Running Skills : 9/10
Defensive Tackling : 8/10
Tactical kicking : 6/10
Goalkicking : 10/10
Ball distribution : 9/10
Rugby intelligience : 9/10
David Carter (Replacement 5/8s)
Weight : 91kg
60m Sprint Time : 8.3s
100m Sprint Time : 12.5s
Running Skills : 6/10
Defensive Tackling : 7/10
Tactical kicking : 8/10
Goalkicking : 7/10
Ball distribution : 8/10
Rugby intelligience : 7/10
Jay Chen (Fullback)
Weight : 109kg
60m Sprint Time : 7.0s
100m Sprint Time : 10.0s
Running Skills : 9/10
Defensive Tackling : 8/10
Tactical kicking : 10/10
Goalkicking : 7/10
Ball distribution : 5/10
Rugby intelligience : 8/10
.Suva Sitivatu (Winger)
Weight : 100kg
60m Sprint Time : 6.9s
100m Sprint Time : 9.9s
Running Skills : 10/10
Defensive Tackling : 8/10
Tactical kicking : 8/10
Goalkicking : 2/10
Ball distribution : 2/10
Rugby intelligience : 8/10
Statistics
Top try scorers – Season 2
1.Karl Spencer (Five-Eights)
2.Jay Chen (Fullback)
3.Suva Sitivatu (Wing)
4.Ryu Chou (Wing)
5.Xiao Ming (Halfback)
Player Salaries – Season 2
1.Karl Spencer $500,000
2.Suva Sitivatu $390,000
3.Jay Chen $387,000
4.Xiao Ming $340,000
5.Ryu Chou $290,000
Evolution of rugby
Chinese rugby in the late 90s was dominated by northern hemisphere coaching personnel and their beliefs. The team played a very limited style of rugby similar to the England union team where the backline would be mainly defensive and the big forwards would dominate the opposition. The notion of “ten man rugby” also translated over into league, with the resulting games becoming repetitive tackling exercises and turning off fans and ticketholders alike.
When Graham Hart was hired in 2000 to the league division's head coach, he introduced a style of play involving attacking backlines. The major problem was the lack of expertise in the area, with many of the smaller, fast backs leaving overseas after selection of their bigger counterparts. To compensate for this, a development programme was started where young players with talent from every grade of competition in their feeder clubs would have a chance of making the national team, not just the feeder club's premier teams. Hart's agents also began trawling overseas, netting big names such as Sitivatu from Fiji and Everly from Canada.
Hart recruited the 21 year old Spencer after watching him play in the Kowloon Rugby League. With an English father and a Chinese mother, Spencer is definitely not a foreign player despite erronous reports by media. Having played as fullback for the union team when he was 19, Spencer's goalkicking is unmatched and he has developed excellent vision, ball distribution, and running skills over season two of the IRL.
Fullback Chen and winger Chou were spotted in the New Frontiers vs Kowloon game in 2002 and selected for the national team. Both players have since developed excellently, with Chen becoming the 2nd highest scorer for the Warriors.
Founded in the 1950s as the Hong Kong Rugby Union, the HKRU was merged with the Chinese League in 1997 to become the Chinese Rugby League and Union (CRLU). The CRLU has achieved financial stability, fast growing membership, and international renown, something neither of the two previous clubs could do. The CLRU owns the Warriors franchise and organises both International Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Sevens. It is affiliated with the IRB and the IRL. For the past financial year, the CRLU generated a surplus of $4.5 million. On any weekend in China 75,000 children, teenagers, and adults play rugby in games organised by the CRLU. A massive achievement for a sport that only a decade ago was played almost exclusively by rural universities and the People's Liberation Army.
The most famous team affiliated with the CRLU is the Warriors, which was financially supported by the CRLU. Officially formed in 2005 just in time to compete for the second season of the IRL from players involved in both league and union, the Warriors quickly gained a national following after winning the first six games.
Facilities
The CRLU owns three stadiums each capable of seating 85,000 : Hong Kong Stadium which is also famous for hosting the Sevens tournaments regularly, Beijing Stadium, and Taipei Stadium. Neither of these are ideal venues for rugby, as league season coincides with monsoon season in Hong Kong and Taipei, and with the subzero temperatures of midwinter in Beijing. Currently the CRLU is looking at purchasing building a stadium in Chengdu for the Warriors exclusively instead of the current arrangement, in which the Warriors share training space with the Chinese Sevens team and Rugby Union team.
Personnel
The Warriors are coached by former All Blacks coach Graham Hart, fired after the 1999 World Cup upset. He has performed well thus far, handling media and developing players.
The Chief Executive of the CRLU is Richard Branson, former owner of the Virgin group companies. Under his guidance revenue generated by the CRLU's games tripled.
Warriors players
The Warriors are affiliated with six feeder clubs – the Southern China Rugby League, Nanjing City, New Frontiers Rugby League, Taiwan Rugby League, Kowloon, and Heilongjiang Rugby League. Many of the players such as five-eights Karl Spencer are foreign purchases, unwanted by their previous countries and clubs. Other players are former Union players, and some are even affiliated with both codes.
The following players have been named for season 2 of the IRL competition.
Fullback - Chen
Winger - Sitivatu
Winger - Chou
Centre - Lee
Centre - Hui
5/8 - Karl Spencer
Halfback - Ming
Hooker - Wong
Prop Forward - Lim
Prop Forward - Woo
Second Row Forward - Marshall
Second Row Forward - Collins
Lock - Everly
Subs:
Lau (Forward)
Greenwood (Forward)
Larkham (Forward)
Qian (Forward)
Wei (Forward)
Carter (Back)
Ting (Back)
Charleston (Back)
Wing-Lee (Back)
Player information
Karl Spencer (Five Eights)
Weight : 98kg
60m Sprint Time : 7.9s
100m Sprint Time : 11.7s
Running Skills : 9/10
Defensive Tackling : 8/10
Tactical kicking : 6/10
Goalkicking : 10/10
Ball distribution : 9/10
Rugby intelligience : 9/10
David Carter (Replacement 5/8s)
Weight : 91kg
60m Sprint Time : 8.3s
100m Sprint Time : 12.5s
Running Skills : 6/10
Defensive Tackling : 7/10
Tactical kicking : 8/10
Goalkicking : 7/10
Ball distribution : 8/10
Rugby intelligience : 7/10
Jay Chen (Fullback)
Weight : 109kg
60m Sprint Time : 7.0s
100m Sprint Time : 10.0s
Running Skills : 9/10
Defensive Tackling : 8/10
Tactical kicking : 10/10
Goalkicking : 7/10
Ball distribution : 5/10
Rugby intelligience : 8/10
.Suva Sitivatu (Winger)
Weight : 100kg
60m Sprint Time : 6.9s
100m Sprint Time : 9.9s
Running Skills : 10/10
Defensive Tackling : 8/10
Tactical kicking : 8/10
Goalkicking : 2/10
Ball distribution : 2/10
Rugby intelligience : 8/10
Statistics
Top try scorers – Season 2
1.Karl Spencer (Five-Eights)
2.Jay Chen (Fullback)
3.Suva Sitivatu (Wing)
4.Ryu Chou (Wing)
5.Xiao Ming (Halfback)
Player Salaries – Season 2
1.Karl Spencer $500,000
2.Suva Sitivatu $390,000
3.Jay Chen $387,000
4.Xiao Ming $340,000
5.Ryu Chou $290,000
Evolution of rugby
Chinese rugby in the late 90s was dominated by northern hemisphere coaching personnel and their beliefs. The team played a very limited style of rugby similar to the England union team where the backline would be mainly defensive and the big forwards would dominate the opposition. The notion of “ten man rugby” also translated over into league, with the resulting games becoming repetitive tackling exercises and turning off fans and ticketholders alike.
When Graham Hart was hired in 2000 to the league division's head coach, he introduced a style of play involving attacking backlines. The major problem was the lack of expertise in the area, with many of the smaller, fast backs leaving overseas after selection of their bigger counterparts. To compensate for this, a development programme was started where young players with talent from every grade of competition in their feeder clubs would have a chance of making the national team, not just the feeder club's premier teams. Hart's agents also began trawling overseas, netting big names such as Sitivatu from Fiji and Everly from Canada.
Hart recruited the 21 year old Spencer after watching him play in the Kowloon Rugby League. With an English father and a Chinese mother, Spencer is definitely not a foreign player despite erronous reports by media. Having played as fullback for the union team when he was 19, Spencer's goalkicking is unmatched and he has developed excellent vision, ball distribution, and running skills over season two of the IRL.
Fullback Chen and winger Chou were spotted in the New Frontiers vs Kowloon game in 2002 and selected for the national team. Both players have since developed excellently, with Chen becoming the 2nd highest scorer for the Warriors.