Ting Fan of the Chongqing Conquerors was willing to aswer a few questions and promote his club.
When did the club start?
Chongqing Conquerors started on 18th October 2008 on the football pitch of Chongqing University Campus A
Who started it and why?
Matt Scranton and Jair Zhai were the founding fathers of our club. They were both passionate about the sport, but struggle to find people to play the sport with when they arrived in Chongqing. They ran into each other on Matt’s place of work, Chongqing Jiaotong University where Jair was wearing a rugby jersey. They got talking, and one thing led to another, The Chongqing Conquerors was born.
How rough is rugby?
There is a misconception about rugby, about how rough and dangerous it is. We are taught how to play safely and responsibly on the field, to ensure the safety of all players. Like many other sports, you might come off with bumps and bruises, but no pain, no gain.
Who can join the rugby club?
Everyone are welcome to join our club, from the novice players to the experienced. We are constantly looking to grow our playing pool to match those of other cities. People of all sizes are welcome, you are not too small or too big to play, we have players who weight no more than 60kg who can still tackle our big boys who weighs twice his own weight.
How do you handle new inexperienced players?
New inexperienced player are involved straight away in basic skills drills. Basic techniques such as ball passing, running with the ball and tackling are all taught beforehand.
Who would you normally play against in a year and where would you play?
Starting in 2010, Chongqing Conquerors will be involved in a Grassroot Competition called the Hukit Cup, sponsored by Hukit in Nantong. This will involve one team from Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing/Nantong and Xiamen. The competition is scheduled to have one game each month and each club will play two away games and two home games.
Besides this competition, Chongqing Conquerors constantly invite other teams from around China to come play in Chongqing. In the last 12 months, we have invited teams from Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai to play us.
We are also invited to many rugby tournaments around China yearly, such as the Beijing Icebreakers, Shanghai National 7′s, Dongbei 7′s, China National 7′s, Chengdu’s Valentines Massacre, Guangzhou 10′s, Xiamen’s 10′s tournament (and the list goes on..)
How often are there training and where do you train?
Trainings are currently held every Saturday @ 3pm at the Football Pitch of Southwest Political Science and Law University in Lieshimu, Shapingba district.
How is the rugby culture after games and trainings?
After every game, there are beers to be drunk. We will have dinner and drinks with the other team and our supporters before the fun begins.
How can new players contact you?
New players please email Ting @ cqrugby@gmail.com for more info
