Drags go down fighting against world's largest standing army

From Condor (aka Murray Sargant)

Expectations were once again high as we assembled to leave for darkest Guangzhou in the club lobby. This was a little too early for some on a Saturday but nontheless everyone made it and we bused over to Hung Hom for the first leg of our long journey north. One small detail was that I managed to get everyone to the station a full hour before the train - sorry for that. Not a big issue, I thought, but later in the afternoon that decision did come back to haunt me in the traditional fines session.

On a positive note the extra time did prove somewhat useful as we fuelled up at Starbucks and a couple of the lads purchased remote toy helicopters which they proceeded to fly around the entire station, occasionally divebombing incoming passengers, to everyone's collective amusement. Finally we boarded the train north and we left the relative comfort of Hong Kong and headed across the border into Red China. Spirits were high - for half a dozen guys, this was their first trip to China, and what better way to see it then on a rugby tour?

After what seemed like half a day we finally arrived in Guangzhou and walked the 500 meters to the PLA barracks. The PLA seem to be out in force a we counted 41 players warming up. Marc spoke to the PLA coach only to find out the China national sevens team were in town and would be joining the PLA side this day. It was at this point that we realised it was going to potentially be a long day in the office. With both Marc and I making up the Dragons' 22 players, we were short of depth - not an ideal situation to be in on a hot day in Guangzhou playing against Team China.

Warming up was pretty easy because just putting on your boots raised a sweat, so it didn't take long. The first two minutes of the game were all Drags. We won the first two or three rucks and then shifted the ball out wide. Unfortunately the ball went to ground and, in a blink of an eye, the PLA backs seized the opportunity to counter-attack. They shifted the ball across the park with lightning speed (as you would expect from international sevens players) and raced into the corner for what was the first of five unanswered tries and a very long afternoon.

On the positive side, our scrum was led in the front row by Richard Gallagher, Pete Sheren and Steve "Horse" Nolan and battled well. The Chinese front row was getting a good work out and we always made it hard for the PLA to get the ball out cleanly. Well done to the entire pack led once again by our returning team captain, Marcus Neil, who, for the record, was our man of the match.

In the backs, it wasn't as much fun. The PLA always seemed to having dozens of players willing to run at us and speed to burn on the outside. Junior Naylor played well and Stuart McGraw managed a couple of mini-breaks, but it was prop Richard Gallagher who came the closest to scoring, only to be denied by the referee's forward pass ruling. There were some fantastic try-saving tackles from Simon Shoebridge and Nik Brunner, proving that the Drags spirit was alive and well. Despite the defeat, we can all be proud of the way the team played.

As the afternoon continued, injuries started to be a major factor with Wally pulling his hamstring, Pete Sheren breaking his foot and Gordon Marsden suffering back spasms. Soon our thin bench was used up and we still had 30 minutes to play. With no more reserves to send into action, Marc recruited the services of a Tongan exchange student who happened to be training with the PLA this week. He was an excellent recruit and helped the Drags play in the way we have become used to in the second half. In the end, though, it wasn't enough. At the final whistle, we were 29 points to zero in the red and a very tired and dejected Drags team left the field.

Following last year's close defeat in Guangzhou, this was a stinging loss and one that we all will remember for a long time to come. The fact is that we came up against a very determined PLA side who were the better team on the day. Hats off to Drags, though. We didn't stop trying all afternoon and worked harder than ever to turn things around. It was a defeat, but Marc and I both feel very proud of the way you boys played. We now need to move on and concentrate more than ever on next week and the games ahead.

The trip home was as entertaining as usual with Junior taking control as the fines as both judge, jury and executioner. As international touring rules applied, we obviously can't divulge too many of the details but suffice to say the new boys will remember this trip for many years to come. All of them had a chicken's foot to suck on along with many beers and a hefty supply of plum wine. In short we had a huge and entertaining trip back. Amongst other things we came together as a stronger team because of the experience and that is surely one of the best thing about playing rugby. Marc and I (or should I say Cheetah and Condor) had great fun getting things organised and having the chance to bring a tremendous bunch of lads together on tour in China.

Condor