In addition to frisbee, smart young people have recently loved the new style of rugby, want to try it?

Rugby is a competitive sport that is very popular in the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries. The Super Bowl, held on the last Sunday of January or the first Sunday of February, has long dominated the U.S. television ratings charts.

In recent years, rugby has gradually gained attention in China. Some of the more intelligent young people are also beginning to get exposed to the sport and are constantly improving the rules to make it more acceptable to the public.

Traditional rugby is fun but intense

On July 9, at the Gaoming District Sports Center, a lively rugby match was underway. Unlike the general impression of rugby, the participants did not wear heavy armor, there was no fierce physical confrontation in the game, and the mixed team of men and women, old and young, broke the ordinary people's understanding that "rugby is a barbaric sport between men".

Jia Jun, a wise man, is one of the initiators of this event. Graduated from the Guangzhou Institute of Physical Education, he is good at basketball and loves all sports with fierce physical confrontation. Therefore, when he learned about rugby culture through television and the Internet, he was quickly attracted to this sport and hoped to promote this interesting sport in Gaoming.

However, just like other team sports, the rules of traditional rugby are complex and rigorous, requiring participants to master sports skills after long-term training, and requiring participants to cooperate with tacit understanding, clear minds, and be able to complete various tactical coordinations to achieve each offensive or defensive plan. These factors have become the "roadblocks" for Jiajun to promote rugby.

"First of all, the pursuit of self-denial and self-cultivation in traditional Chinese culture makes most of us not accustomed to fierce physical confrontation sports; Secondly, at a time when the pace of life is getting faster and faster, it is also very difficult for everyone to arrange time, receive training, and organize competitions. In addition, the cost of equipment required to purchase rugby is not low. Therefore, it is not easy to promote the sport of rugby in the country. Jiajun said.

It's easy to get started after improving the rules

The opportunity was transferred to a liaison activity of the Broad Sports Alumni Association. At this event, Jia Jun met his disciple, Chen Shaoliang, the founder of Hi Xin Rugby.

Born in Chaozhou, Chen Shaoliang was a professional player in Australian rugby and captained the Chinese team. After retiring in 2019, he combined the characteristics of American rugby, rugby and Australian rugby, improved the rules, and founded Hi Xin Rugby, determined to create a rugby sport that belongs to the Chinese.

The biggest feature of the rules of rugby that has been improved by Chen Shaoliang is that it is simple and easy to play.

Abandoning the strict restriction that rugby can only pass backwards and American rugby can only pass forward, Hi Heart Rugby allows participants to pass the ball freely forward or backward, as long as the ball is thrown with both hands. At the same time, combined with the characteristics that everyone is not keen on fierce physical confrontation, Chen Shaoliang also designed a "STOP" mechanism - as long as the defender touches the body part below the shoulder of the ball carrier and above the knee, even if the defense is successful - not only avoids the fierce physical collision of traditional rugby, increases safety, but also eliminates the trouble of participants having to buy or rent protective gear, which greatly reduces the threshold for participation in rugby.

Although the rules are simple and easy to play, it is not an easy task to play rugby well. Chen Shaoliang said that the concept of "free ball" introduced in sports, and the "STOP" triggered 5 times in a row, that is, the rules of attack and defense conversion, have added a lot of strategic and competitive sports elements to the sport. How to play a quick counter-attack in defense, or use the rules to reduce the opponent's score, has become a difficult point for testing both players.

"In a game, when one side throws the ball, the ball goes into 'free kick' status. Just like football or basketball, whoever can grab the ball can carry out a wave of offense. Chen Shaoliang said that there are two types of offensive scores, one is that the attacking party runs into the division with the ball and can score 5 points, and the other is to throw the ball to the opponent in the division and score 3 points.

Drive more people to enjoy the joy of sports

The emergence of Hi Heart Rugby makes Jia Jun's wish to organize a rugby match in Gaoming come true. On July 9, with the strong support of the United Front Work Department of the District Committee and the District Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, Jiajun organized a group of young people in the district to carry out a Rugby Match at the Gaoming Sports Center.

The game went well, and due to the simplicity of the rules, it only took ten minutes for everyone to get started. A large team of more than 40 people, divided into small teams of more than a dozen people, teamed up to fight and played rugby.

Jia Jun experienced this new style of rugby for the first time, and his mood was both exciting and happy. "There is no fierce collision like traditional rugby, and the direction of the pass is very free, and it is a great feeling that both men, women and children can participate in it and enjoy the joy of sports." Jiajun said.

In particular, the newly added "STOP" mechanism has a taste of "123 Wooden Man", like "Eagle Catching Chickens", and like a sandbag game, this game with a little childhood memories fascinated all participants. "After the race that day, someone told me that the last time I ran and rolled on the grass so freely was when I was studying at school, I hadn't relaxed myself so completely for a long time." JiaJun smiled and recalled.

Jia Jun, who is good at basketball, also praised the low court requirements and number of people limits in Hexin Rugby. JiaJun said that the pace of life in modern society is getting faster and faster, and it is difficult to organize a regular 11-person football game, so there is a 5-a-side football; Basketball has also evolved from the official 5-on-5 to 3-player basketball, and even 1V1 "bullfighting"; The characteristics of rugby, both men and women, young and old, make this sport extremely valuable for promotion. As long as there is a small lawn, everyone can move. "A sport that moves everyone is a good sport." Jiajun said.

However, in Jia Jun's view, if the sport wants to be promoted on a large scale, there is still a difficulty to overcome. 'The lack of referees is the biggest shortcoming of our continued organisation of rugby at the moment.' JiaJun explained that last time, because there was an excellent referee like Chen Shaoliang, everyone could have fun. But as a nascent sport, the number of good referees is still small. Without experienced referees to lead, it is difficult for beginners to judge which actions have been violated and which ones have conformed to the rules, which has a negative impact on the promotion of rugby.

Of course, Chen Shaoliang has begun to train new forces to serve as referees. He said that just a 5-a-side football pitch can organize a standard 7-on-7 rugby match, which will not only allow participants to improve their physical qualities such as strength, speed, sensitivity, endurance and flexibility, but also enjoy the fun of free running and grabbing the ball, so I will do my best to get more people to participate in the sport and better promote the sport.

[Reporter] Li Xiangrui

【Source: Foshan Daily】

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