重慶有個特別的國際橄欖球隊

□ 文/本刊記者 李靜

在重慶，有這樣一支特殊的球隊，說它特殊，不僅因為這是重慶第一支英式橄欖球隊，還因為球隊的隊員們非常“國際化”，分別來自中國、新西蘭、澳大利亞、美國、英國、德國、哥倫比亞、波蘭、丹麥、芬蘭、俄羅斯、阿根廷、斐濟等十幾個不同國家，這樣一個“聯(lián)合國”式的球隊在重慶從無到有，經(jīng)歷幾年的風風雨雨，已經(jīng)成為在重慶的外國友人圈子里的熱門團體，這就是重慶“征服者”橄欖球隊。

重慶第一支橄欖球隊

橄欖球隊最初是由一個美國人和一個重慶人共同成立的。2006年，美國人馬特（Mathew）來到中國，在重慶交通大學(xué)擔任外教。作為一名狂熱的橄欖球愛好者，從到重慶的那一天起，他就一直在尋找一群打橄欖球的志同道合的朋友和場地。2008年，一次偶然的機會，馬特認識了一個會英式橄欖球的朋友，叫成杰，也是現(xiàn)在征服者球隊里的資歷最深的一名隊員，曾打過兩年的橄欖球業(yè)余聯(lián)賽。因為抱有共同的目標和對橄欖球的熱情，兩人開始計劃組建一支業(yè)余橄欖球隊，在克服了隊員少、無固定訓(xùn)練場地、合作商缺乏等等難題后，2008年，重慶首家英式橄欖球隊——“征服者”終于成立。

如今，球隊的創(chuàng)建者之一——馬特已經(jīng)回到美國，Ting也已經(jīng)離開了重慶，回憶起當時組建球隊，積極拉人入伙的場面，成杰仍然記憶猶新。“我們的球隊最初把隊員鎖定在高校的外教和留學(xué)生身上。在很短的時間里，我們找到了幾位具備一定橄欖球基礎(chǔ)的戰(zhàn)友，華裔新西蘭人Ting，曾經(jīng)打過橄欖球的重慶小伙夏嘉良，以及一些在重慶生活工作的外國人等。慢慢地，球隊隊員也增加到20多名，其中外籍球員與重慶本地球員各占一半，球隊得到初步的發(fā)展。”Ting還建立了重慶“征服者”橄欖球隊自己的網(wǎng)站，以此更多地宣傳這只球隊，同時吸引更多的橄欖球愛好者加入進來。

從“征服者”到“麻辣聯(lián)盟”

球隊的影響力正在一步步擴大，他們也開始參加大大小小的比賽，并受邀到其他城市，如成都、上海、廈門等，與當?shù)氐拈蠙烨蜿犨M行友好比賽，技藝切磋，最初球隊戰(zhàn)績一般，經(jīng)過多次戰(zhàn)場上的磨練后，隊伍也越挫越勇，慢慢贏得比賽，小有成績。

經(jīng)過幾年的積累和發(fā)展，越來越多的外國友人加入其中。Miles Taylor，英國人，現(xiàn)在重慶一家咨詢公司工作，兩年前，Miles在來重慶前就在網(wǎng)上搜索到了重慶征服者球隊網(wǎng)站，因為自己從11歲就開始打橄欖球，他對重慶有這樣一個球隊感到特別興奮，便提前報名加入進來。如今他已在球隊打球兩年，還是球隊分組的隊長。

Juan Lopez-Pena，來自阿根廷，也是通過網(wǎng)站找到征服者球隊加入進來的。Juan對橄欖球非常熱愛，球技精湛，現(xiàn)在也是征服者球隊的兼職教練，幫助隊員訓(xùn)練和提高打球水平。

越來越多外國友人加入其中，很多來重慶工作、生活的外國人都通過網(wǎng)站、朋友介紹等各種渠道得知征服者球隊，很多重慶本地的橄欖球愛好者也踴躍報名加入，征服者球隊的陣容已經(jīng)越來越龐大。于是，球隊的隊員們想到把這樣一只球隊分成3個小組隊，組成七人或十人制的橄欖球隊，每組都有自己的隊長和負責內(nèi)勤事務(wù)的人員。就這樣，征服者球隊發(fā)展成了一個重慶本土與外籍友人結(jié)合的俱樂部，這里的成員們不僅一起訓(xùn)練、比賽，也組織各種活動，增加彼此了解與認識，并豐富外國人在重慶的業(yè)余生活，他們還為這個俱樂部想到了一個最能代表重慶特色的名字——麻辣聯(lián)盟。

麻辣聯(lián)盟的成員每周都會嚴格按照要求進行三次訓(xùn)練，有時在重慶大學(xué)的操場，有時在渝北的一個體育場，有時在一家叫Comjoy的健身房訓(xùn)練輪換訓(xùn)練。隊里還制定了“不訓(xùn)練，就不能比賽”（No train，No play）的規(guī)則，所以隊員們都特別認真對待每一次的集訓(xùn)。雖然征服者球隊里的隊員來自不同國家，隊員們操著不同的語言，但溝通似乎并沒有成為他們之間交流的障礙。Miles告訴記者，我們的球隊里有的外籍球員會說中文，中國或者其他國家的朋友也可以說英文，都是有語言基礎(chǔ)的，所以溝通不成問題。他們表示，打橄欖球用到更多的是肢體語言，以及對這項運動的激情，有了這兩個條件，一切問題都可以迎刃而解。

今年，球隊還將從新西蘭邀請到一位專業(yè)的橄欖球教練來重慶為他們執(zhí)教，同時在秋天即將舉行6場麻辣聯(lián)盟之間的內(nèi)部小組賽，并將球隊里最優(yōu)秀的球員選出來代表征服者球隊參加重慶與其他城市橄欖球隊的比賽。隊員們對即將來臨的賽季躍躍欲試，抱著極大的熱情，甚至為每個小組隊都設(shè)計了球衣和最能代表他們特色的標志。他們希望征服者球隊的名氣能因為他們這樣一群有激情，有想法，有技術(shù)的國際球員而變得越來越有影響力，越來越專業(yè)。

We Have a International Rugby Team in Chongqing

There is a special team in Chongqing. We call it special not only because it is the first British rugby football team in Chongqing, but also the players of the team are very international. There are players from China, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom,Germany, Colombia, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Russia, Argentina, Fiji and many more. This"United Nations" type of team in Chongqing has experienced years of ups and downs and it became really popular in Chongqing among the expats. This is "The Chongqing Conquerors"rugby football team.

The First Rugby Team in Chongqing

The rugby team was originally set up jointly by an American and a local Chongqing person.In 2006, an American guy named Mathew came to China and worked as a teacher in Chongqing at Jiaotong University. As an avid rugby enthusiast, he had been looking for a group of like-minded friends to play rugby together. In 2008, Matt by pure happenstance met a rugby friend, Cheng Jie,who is also one of the most experienced players in the conquerors team and now has played two years of Amateur League rugby. Because of their common goal and passion for rugby, they began to organize an amateur rugby team, after overcoming the lack of players, training venues, official partners, etc., the first Chongqing rugby team - "The Chongqing Conquerors" - was finally established in 2008.

Now, one of the team's founders - Matt has returned to the United States, and Ting, known as a “rugby legend” in Chongqing, also had to leave unfortunately. Talking about the beginning of establishing the team, Cheng Jie said, “Initially our team players were mostly made up of foreign teachers and students in colleges and universities. In a short period of time, we found a few with a bit of rugby skill; the New Zealander Ting, who played rugby in Chongqing; and Xia Jialiang, as well as a number of foreigners who were living and working in Chongqing.Slowly, the team has increased by more than 20, including foreign players as well as locals; the team is developing every day.” Ting also created a Conqueror’s website to promote the team and to attract more rugby fans to join in.

From the Conquerors to Mala League

The team was expanding step by step, and they also began to participate in large and small competitions. During these competitions, the team was invited to other cities such as Chengdu, Shanghai and Xiamen to play friendly games with the rugby teams there; after many setbacks, they started to make small achievements.

After years of accumulation and development, more and more foreign friends joined them.

Miles Taylor, from the U.K, who now works for a consulting company in Chongqing, is currently the captain of the team. Two years before Miles came to Chongqing, he searched online and found the conquerors team website.Miles started playing Rugby at age 11. He was so excited to find out that there was a rugby team in Chongqing and registered to join in. He has played on the team for two years now. He also captains a Mala league rugby team.

Juan Lopez-Pena, from Argentina, also found the team through the website and joined the Conquerors. Juan loves rugby, he has played for almost 20 years and is quite good at it. Now he is not only a player but also the team's coach and helps players train and raise the level of play.

Many foreigners who are working and living in Chongqing have found the Conquerors team through websites, friends and so on. Any of Chongqing's local rugby enthusiasts are encouraged to register to join the conquerors team, which has become much bigger now. They plan to divide this team into 3 groups, consisting of rugby tens or sevens, each of which has a captain with 10+ years’experience playing rugby, a co-captain, and a social captain.The Conquerors developed into a combination of both Chongqing locals and expat friends. Members of the team are not only busy with training and competition, but they also organize a variety of activities, enhance mutual understanding and awareness, and enrich the life offoreigners in Chongqing. Also, they named the club with the most representative characteristic of Chongqing - The “Mala”League.

Mala League members are strictly in accordance with the requirements for training three times a week, sometimes on the fields at Chongqing University, sometimes in a stadium in Yubei District, and sometimes in a gym called Comjoy. The team has also developed a “no train, no play” rule, so at each training session, the teams are particularly serious with their practice.

Though players on the Conquerors team are from different countries, the communication does not seem to be a problem for them. Miles told us that some of the foreign players on the team can speak Chinese, and some of the Chinese players can speak English, so communication is not a problem. They said that playing Rugby relies more heavily on body language, as well as the passion for the sport. With these two conditions, any other problems can be solved.

This year, the rugby team has invited a professional coach from New Zealand to Chongqing, to help them improve their training plan and, in this way, also their level of rugby.The Mala league teams will play against each other a total of six times in the Autumn Season and the most outstanding players will be elected as representatives of “The Chongqing Conquerors” when they play against other cities. Players are eager and have great enthusiasm for the coming season. They even designed jerseys and representative logos for each team.They want the reputation of the team to become increasingly influential and professional because of the passion, love, and effort that they put everyday into their rugby team.