Mon, 26 May 2025 20:36:09 -0700WeeblyFri, 29 Oct 2010 05:27:07 GMThttp://www.cqrugby.com/blog/oktoberrugbyfest-16th-oct-2010On a typical partially sunny Chengdu day, Chongqing Conquerors took part in a mammoth event, The OktoberRUGBYfest. Also in attendance, were the Xiamen Typhoons and Hangzhou Harlequins.

 

First game of the day saw some very slick rugby moves from Xiamen who dispatched Hangzhou after an intense 40 minutes of 15 a-side rugby. The bigger Xiamen forwards lay the ground work for the backs with clean ball, Xiamen’s danger man Adrian (FRA) and CJ (SAM) connected well on several occasions to score some beautiful tries. Hangzhou came very close a few times also, but in the end, Xiamen ran away with the match 31-0.

 

Second game was the old grudge match Chengdu Black and Whites vs Chongqing Conquerors. Chengdu has always had the wood on Chongqing ever since the two sides meet way back in December 2008 in the 15s rugby. The closest match was back in May when Chengdu came back with an easy try after poor clearing from Chongqing to draw 15 all. Some solid defence up the middle by the Chongqing forwards made sure Chengdu weren’t going to get anywhere far, however, silly penalties and handling errors allowed Chengdu to creep into Chongqing’s half. From the ensuing phase, quick hands and excellent running from the Chengdu backs saw Chengdu score the first try. Chongqing replied with some individual brilliance from Jair, one of the original Conquerors. After the ball found Jair (CHN) on the wing, he chipped and chased and chipped again to beat the Chengdu defenders to be first on the ball and scored a 30 meter try. However, some porous defence from Chongqing saw some easy tries Chengdu. Final score 20-5.

 

Third game was between Chengdu ‘Blues’ vs Hangzhou. Chengdu dressed in Xiamen blues were starting to run away with the match with hard running from the forwards, slick footwork and quick pass in the backline. Hangzhou hit back with two beautiful tries of their own to make it 20-12.  

 

Fourth game of the day was Xiamen Typhoons vs Chongqing Conquerors. Both clubs were “officially” founded around the same time (Jan 2009 and Oct 2008) and each had more than 10 nationalities in their first ever matches. This was also the first time the two clubs played each other. Xiamen gain meters with their strong running forwards which was eventually contained by the Conquerors. However, slick hands, strong running from Xiamen combined with lapse in concentration from Chongqing saw Xiamen running away with the match as deserved winners, 31–0.

 

Fifth game of the way was Hangzhou vs Chongqing. Again, this was the first time both sides played each other. Fatigue had set in for both sides from the two previous games. Little separated the two teams in the first half as both sides cancelled out each other in all facets of the game. The deadlock was finally broken in the 3rd quarter. After continuous phase inside Hangzhou’s half, some quick hands saw the ball passed to the new recruit Fujun (CHN). He managed to beat 2 man to sprint down the sideline and score between the posts. Miles (ENG) converted to add the extras. It didn’t take long for Hangzhou to fight back, however another injury to Chongqing was to follow.

Combination of Pablo Ramirez (COL) who is known for his excellent pronunciation and his tackling, and Jason (CHN) who was known for yellow cards and his footwork had resulted in Pablo using his head into the tackle after Jason sidestepped him. Pablo was soon taken to the ER for medical check-up. The injury toll for Chongqing was sitting at 6 by this stage. Some stiff defence saw Chongqing the deserved winners, final score 7-0.

 

Final game of the day was also fitting as Chengdu took on Xiamen and both were sitting on 6 points with 2 wins each. Some entertaining rugby pleased the crowd as Chengdu drew first blood. The big boys from both sides ran hard at each other without any care of their well-beings, but Xiamen eventually fought back with a converted try, leading 7-5. The heart of Typhoons were eventually broken when John Fowler (ENG) scored a try few minutes before full time. Black & Whites beating The Typhoons 10 – 7 as deservedly winners.

 

Dinner and fines were awarded at dinner where THE TING (NZL) was fined several times, luckily he was not present as he was at the hospital with Pablo. One of the more outrageous fines was for Ting having feminine features (bubble butt and all). FYI, I dont take steroids.

 

Injuries aside, Chengdu hosted a very successful event, everyone of the 80 odd players plus the many more supporters thoroughly enjoyed themselves over the 3 day event. It is fair to say there were some sore heads, battered bodies and even lighter wallets on the trip back on Sunday.


Chongqing Conquerors would like to thank all of their supporters who came along, Chengdu Black & Whites for putting on a great show, Xiamen Typhoons and Hangzhou Harlequins for making the trip over, the referees Reece (NZL) and Albert (HK), our sponsors Alliance Francaise, Maxxelli Real Estate, One Hour Fitness, CQSCENE and everyone else involved!

 



]]>Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:52:51 GMThttp://www.cqrugby.com/blog/cq-vs-cd-22nd-may-2010On 22nd of May 2010, Chongqing Conquerors (CQ) played the Chengdu Black & Whites (CD) at the Chongqing Normal University here in Shapingba.

After an eight hour bus ride, 25 Pandas travelled from Chengdu to Chongqing. When their ETA was set at 11pm, the Black & Whites turned up fashionably late at 3am. After causing havoc and chaos at Maccas at 4am, the Black & Whites tucked in for the night.

 There was only one player who played his first game for the Conquerors, the experienced Stu Bunn (NZL) playing at second-five eighth. After the disappointment from last month, the Conquerors were really fired up about this game.
Beautiful sunny day with 25 – 30 odd ºC soaking the pitch at Chongqing Normal University – it was a scorcher of a day.

Led by Stu, the Kiwis did their first haka in CQ stripes, much to the excitement of the crowds and players alike.
After an intense first quarter, CQ set themselves with a scrum feed 5 meters from the CD try-line. Strong running with the ball by No. 8 Tristan sliced through CD’s defense for the first try for the Conquerors.
CQ continued to threaten CD’s try-line time and time again only to come fruitless as simple mistakes were made and CD’s superboot Michael “Blakers” Blakely clearing the ball down field.

Another CQ scrum feed saw Tristan score his double from the back of the scrum. CQ leading CD 10-0 at half-time.
In the second half, CQ were expecting a dog fight from CD and sure enough they were. Intense pressure from CD came in waves and a lapse in defense by Ting saw Norm slice through for a 30m try. Not long after, CQ again threatened the CD line, after some solid runs and effective passing by the CQ inside-backs, saw the ball floated to Sam “The Face” as he brushed off two CD defenders to score.
CD were not out of the game yet. Minutes later, after some good build-up into CD’s half, some rushed play saw a lapse in concentration from CQ and the ball was intercepted by CD’s Norm for him to sprint 50 odd meters for his second try. Score 15-10 to Chongqing.
With only seconds left, a penalty was awarded to CQ. Instead of opting for a scrum, CD stole CQ’s lineout to see the ball cleared down field. Frantic defense won the ball back, but a couple of average kicks for touch saw CD’s winger Jeffery to pick up and score the equalizer and breaking CQ’s hearts. Final score 15-15.
Dinner and boat race was carried out in Golden Hans BBQ. Both teams of 8 topless players (Chengdu in only their underwear) went head-to-head for the row. The pressure was again on CQ as they work to preserve their 100% winning record against CD in Tom "Trans-Siberian Train" absence.
Ref’d by our dear friend Penny from the Airhostee’s Training Center, CQ led the first boat-race - just. CD claimed the second boat-race with some open-throat action, scores locked 1-1.

The third boat-race ended in a draw and while we were waiting for more beer, Charles, the smallest player from CQ, managed to break a table as he persuade himself to stand on top of it.

In the fourth boat-race, CQ was neck-and-neck with CD the whole way through, but the last man from CD downing his beer in record time the difference between the teams and CD takes out the first boat-race win against CQ (probably their first win ever).
Fines were given out accordingly at Nuts Club. CQ’s MVP goes to Tristan and CD’s MVP goes to Norm – both for scoring 2 awesome tries.
All in all, it was a great weekend and we will like to thanks to all our supporters from Chongqing and Chengdu; including Amber, Hanna and Dandan, Penny and her air hostess girls, Denis Lejeune for awesome photographs, Annelies and her girls, Fran, Nzizza, Jack and co (There are simply too many to name individually!!), the Chengdu Black & Whites, Golden Hans, Nut Club, the bus driver for the 8 hour bus ride and our sponsors CQ Scene, Maxxelli Real Estate and Alliance Francaise for making this match possible! 
Look forward to seeing Chengdu again real soon!

 

]]>Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:50:00 GMThttp://www.cqrugby.com/blog/cd-vs-cq-17th-april-2010On 17th of April 2010, Chongqing Conquerors played the Chengdu Black & Whites at the National Defense Park in Chengdu. Fourteen players from Chongqing traveled to Chengdu, they meet up with fellow Conquerors Patrick Wolak (USA) and new addition Charlie Eichacker (USA) from Neijiang and Luzhou respectively. Our starting line-up comprised of Tang "TT" (CHN) and Pengmu (CHN) propping with first time Conqueror Tyler "DJ T Barnes" (USA) at hooker. Gareth "Gaz" (NZL) and Archambaud "Archi" (FRA) locking with Pablo "You are Not Colombian" (COL), Mike "DJ Good Weed" (USA) and Patrick "Paddy" (USA) completing the loose trio. In the backline, Johnny "Saundz" (ENG) and Ting "T Fan" (NZL) formed the 9 & 10 pairing with strong runners Tristan (USA) and Xia "My Ball" (CHN) compromising a solid 2nd-five and center combo. Jair "Mr Fitness" (CHN), Alex "The other French" (FRA) & Charles "Runs across, then up the field" (CHN) completed the outside backs with super-reserve and first time Conqueror Charlie (USA) on the bench. 

For six of the players, this was the first time they are playing in the Conquerors stripes, for the rest, it was our first game since Decemeber 2009. It was also the first game in our new Hukit gears.  Sun was up with slight overcast, the day was perfect for a game of footy, everyone was more than excited about the 60 minutes ahead. The first quarter saw some ferocious attack from the Black & Whites and impenetrable defense from the Conquerors. When too many Conquerors were sucked in the ruck and mauls, the Irish Backs of the Black & Whites seize the opportunity to spread the ball wide where the Conquerors were out-numbered 3-1. Chengdu led the first half 17-0.  Early in the second half, Conquerors scrum feed inside their own 22 saw a very average clearance kick from the Ting which was charged down, and a try was scored few seconds later. Moments later, a quick throw-in by super-reserve Charlie saw Saundz racing 50m down the touchline to score a brilliant try.


In the end, the combination of inexperience, inability to contest effectively at the breakdown and terrible hands in the back line would mean the end for the Conquerors. Chengdu Black & Whites running away the deserved winners 27-5.  After an awesome buffet dinner with heaps of sausages! The after party began. Fines were giving out accordingly, where 2 bottles of Jose Cuervo was drunk, this was followed by 8-man boat race. The pressure was on CQ as they work to preserve their 100% winning record against CD in Tom "Trans-Siberian Train" and Joe "Mr America" absence.  After a complicated start, CD led the first boat-race as the ref judged some unnecessary spillage by CQ's Tristan. In the second boat-race, some excellent drinking saw CQ level with CD, much to the attest of CD players. In the third boat-race, CQ was neck-and-neck CD the whole way through, with CD just beating CQ at the end, however, the referall system was used as CQ witnessed half a glass of beer going down one of the CD's players t-shirt and not his mouth, and the ref judged CQ the winner with 2-1. CD thought they could level the scores by adding the fourth boat-race which compromised of 4 girls and 4 boys. What CD didnt realize was that, not only can the CQ boys drink, so can our girls - CQ running away deserved winners in this contest.  With the Dance Off to end the after party, CQ was looking to carry on with the win from the last dance off all the way back in November 2009, to do so, CQ sent out the 3 best dancers on offer.

First dance was a marginal call by the "mutual" judging panel as our Paddy showed more move and grooves than his opposite number, which might have won as he was wearing a panda hat. In the second dance saw Johnny Dallas (Chairman/Club President of Black & Whites) unwillingly volunteering himself as the pole in pole dance that was to follow. Gaz (CQ) and Casey (CD) was called out bu the judges, and straight away, the Westie inside Gaz combined with all those years he spent studying at the Mermaid Bar in Auckland paid off. Some how, the dance ended with both dancers topless and Gaz riding Casey (who was under the Pole) on the d-floor. Gaz won with the judges ruling in his favour 2-1.

The final dance off was of great contraversy. Both dancers had to be topless and blindfolded. DJ Good Weed part-times his street dancing & battles by spinning great tunes in the weekends in CQ, this was his forte. However, he was facing Craig whom had just spilt half a glass of beer down his t-shirt moments before, and he was notorious for stripping down naked back in Liverpool. After an intense 45 second dance-off, the judges couldn't decide the winner - but they agreed that both dancers had too much clothes on. After 45 seconds followed, unsurprising, with Craig stripping down fully before anyone can count to 3 and our own DJ Good Weed follow suit to please the girls in the crowd. Weed easily had the upper hand in his dance routine but in the end it wasnt enough as the "mutual" judging panel voted in favour of CD because he "showed more commitment as he kept his clothes off longer".


All in all, it was a great weekend and we will like to thanks to all our supporters from Chongqing and Chengdu, the Chengdu Black & Whites, The Shamrock and our sponsors CQ Scene, Maxxelli Real Estate and Alliance Francaise for making this trip possible!   Look forward to hosting Chengdu in May!

 ]]>Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:37:13 GMThttp://www.cqrugby.com/blog/cq-vs-cd-23rd-may-2009On Saturday, we played a hard-fought 60 minutes of rugby against Chengdu, but came up short, losing 10-5.  Tries for Chengdu were scored by Morales (#13) and Aaron (#14).  Our try was scored by Carlos (#14).  MVP for the game goes to Ting - he played with two severe injuries in his legs, and still played a commendable game directing the backline.  Ting has absolute heart and should be cheered and thanked by all players.  Overall, I can't tell you how proud I am of this result boys.  We played very well and came up just short of beating Chengdu.  You guys did fantastic.   Game Summary: Despite the great result, the match started off poorly.  Our newer players were all there early as instructed.  Some of our starters made it there 20, 10, or even 5 minutes before the match started.  This is absolutely ridiculous and should piss all of you off.  I was pissed off, still am.  Warmup wasn't too great either, lots of dropped passes.  Warmup should be the last time when we drop passes.   We received the kickoff.  For the majority of the first half, they played the game in our half.  Our plan of going back and forth across the field came undone quickly as their press defense forced the tackle quickly and we were unable to regroup in time.  Our forward runs and pod running was non-existent and this is something we must train in the future.  For all this to work, Jair needs to take control of the field and direct the forwards - after passing, this is the most important job of the #9.    After lots of pressure, Chengdu finally caught us on an overlap and Aaron, their winger scored.  Simon missed the conversion.  We held them off for a long time, and this is very commendable.  With the 1st half coming to a close, we had one great chance with an attacking scrum 5m from their tryline.  As happened many times in the game, our poor hands caused a knock-on and we lost the opportunity.   We went into the half with the score 5-0.   Guys came out fired up for the 2nd half, and we knew we had to play well to take this game.  In the 2nd half though, our hands got even worse and there were more knock-ons than almost any 30 minutes of rugby I've ever played.  Our try was set up by a long run down the sideline from Xia.  On the try, Carlos joined the backline from the fullback position giving us an overlap.  Magic didn't cause this try, nor did any special trickery - this was simple, good, basic rugby.  Carlos won the sprint to the sideline and put the ball down to make the game a 5-5 tie.  I missed the conversion, so the game stayed tied.  Sadly, our push and big runs seen earlier in the half were not there later in the 2nd half.  It seemed that the injuries and heat had caught up with us and Chengdu was constantly on the attack.  To our credit though, our defense played like heroes keeping Chengdu out of the try zone.  Finally though, Morales, their #13 took the ball and bounced off 3 Conquerors en route to scoring.  There wasn't anything special about his try, we just missed the tackles.  A frustrating way for them to score the winning try, indeed.  With only a few minutes left, our efforts at a last minute try were not to come to fruition, and the game ended like that, 10-5. After the game, we had a great touch game where our new players got involved and got more experience.  This is very important and we're very happy to have all you new guys on the team. 

 

队员们，   上个周六我们跟成都打了六十分钟的橄榄球比赛，结果输了10比5。成都达阵人是Morales（13号）和Aaron（14号）。我们达阵的人是Carlos（14号）。我们这次比赛的最佳队员是范天鹰。他两只腿受伤得挺厉害可是没退赛。他一直领导我们后卫而且打得非常不错。他太勇敢，你们都应该感谢他的努力。总体来说，我非常荣幸能说我是重庆征服者橄榄球俱乐部其中的一个队员。我们打得很好而差点赢了。你们都打得非常非常好。   比赛总结： 虽然我们总体成绩非常好，比赛的开始让我很失望。我们刚加入队伍的队员准时地来到操场。可是有的“最好队员”迟到了。这太可笑，你们都应该一看他们迟到就生气。我比赛时生气，现在还生气。而且我们比赛开始之前的热身动作都不好。很多队员传球传得很乱。我们比赛前的热身动作必须什么都做很标准。 成都选了发球。大部分的上半时间成都在攻击我们在防守。因为他们的快速防守策略我们的攻击策略（多跑）很快地没成功。我们前锋拿着球跑和小组攻击策略都没出现。我们必须未来多训练前锋攻击策略。如果前锋要成功的攻击，成杰（或其他9号队员）必须控制及领导前锋队员。除了传球，9号最重要的任务是领导及控制前锋队员。   成都一直攻击给我们的防守带来了很多压力。他们终于了利用多一个人（overlap)的机会然后达阵了。他们的达阵后踢球得分机会（conversion）没成功。我们的防守做得真好可是他们的压力确实太强。上半时间快没了时候，我们有一次很激动的机会：离达阵线5米的scrum。可是我们非常可惜没利用这次机会：我们传球没传好然后球被往前面传了。很可惜。   半场时候总分是成都-重庆 5：0   我们的队员一开始下半很激动因为大家都知道我们很可能会赢此比赛。可是下半时我们传球变更糟了。这是我一辈子参加有最多传球错误的橄榄球比赛。我们达阵前夏嘉良表示了一个很出色的50米跑步。达阵时，Carlos从15号加入了后卫了攻击线。他加入后我们就有多一个人机会。这不是魔术或很创意的橄榄球，这是很基本的橄榄球，做得非常出色。Carlos达阵后，我没成功的踢球所以总分平了，5比5。我们可惜地达阵后没达阵前力气多。我们很多受伤的队员都受不了，伤害得太厉害。虽然受了很多伤害，我们的队员，尤其后卫，一直表示了特别好地防守。防守了成都的攻击很长时间可是最后他们又得了分。Morales（13号）拿着球了离达阵线10米地跑了。他达阵没有很特别的动作，我们的队员就没撞他到底。这是他们达阵的很让我们沮丧的方法。他们踢球没成功所以总分是10比5。比赛还有几分钟可是我们力气不多，没机会达阵。最后，征服者输了10比5。
 
正式比赛后我们队员打了碰式橄榄球比赛。此比赛给我们新手很多经验。这是很重要而且我们很开心看你们很快得学到橄榄球基本规则。

 

]]>Mon, 17 May 2010 09:08:10 GMThttp://www.cqrugby.com/blog/first-post13 brave Conquerors, along with the amazing Deng Lu went to Chongqing to play the Black and Whites.  The final result was 12 - 24, with the Black and Whites coming out on top.  However, this game was far and above our best performance yet.  Tries for the Conquerors were scored by Jair and Peter Dobbs (an injury fill-in from the Chengdu team).  I made our only conversion kick. Man of the Match (MVP) goes to Mike Weed for his relentless pursuit, fantastic fitness, consistent running, and outstanding work in the lineouts.  Great work, Mike!   

Summary:We played a 30-minute half, followed by 2 15-minute quarters on a day that turned out to be the most polluted Chengdu day in the last year.  The Conquerors won the coin flip and decided to kick.  Immediately, we put the pressure on Chengdu with our strong tackling and their general unease.  The majority of the first half was played with the Conquerors on the offense.  We had a few strong goal line attacks, all of which came up short.  But Chengdu could not keep us away.  Patty almost scored the first try of the game, but ran over the ball line before touching down.  To his defense, the lines weren't very clear.  Only a few minutes later, Jair turned the corner against the opposing scrumhalf and pushed in for a well-deserved try.  With a missed conversion, the Conquerors were up 5-0.  This was a proud moment - the first time the Conquerors have been ahead in a game in our short history.  Chengdu was scared.  The half ended, and many shouts of frustration were heard from the Chengdu side.   In the first 15-minute quarter, the game started to get scrappy as tempers rose and guys got tired.  We gave away many silly penalties that a better Chengdu team would have capitalized on.  Casey switched to scrumhalf and used his size advantage against Jair to power past our guys for a try.  Hard to stop a guy like him unless your shoulder is aimed at his knee.  He missed the conversion kick and the score was tied.   Shortly after the restart, Chengdu's speedy winger, Aaron got our backs on an overlap, turned the corner on Peter, and raced down the field for a 60 meter try.  He is a dangerous athlete, and one mistake there led to the try.  With the conversion, it was 12-5 very quickly, and the first quarter ended up with the Chongqing boys a bit down.   Chongqing came out strong in the last quarter even stealing the kick-off.  The game was back and forth for a few minutes until the Conquerors' defense failed them again.  Approximately 10 Conquerors got sucked into a maul, which left Chengdu with quite the overlap, from which they easily scored.  With a missed kick, the Conquerors were down 17-5.  There wasn't much time remaining and the boys had to get it together soon.   And get it together they did.  Spurred by a big 50 meter run from Ting who turned the corner, the Conquerors were close to the opposing try zone.  With a lineout 10 meters from the Chengdu try zone, Mike caught the throw-in, and passed right back down to me.  I put my head down, Jonah pushed me from behind, and we came up short at the 1 meter line.  50+ year old Peter Dobbs, filing in for an injury on our side, grabbed the ball and jumped over the ]]>