Chinese team is practising with Zimbabwe team. Edmond Tang

Garner Yu Guoliang and Li Shufeng - both rugby players from the mainland - came to Hong Kong four years ago to improve their skills and stamina and to help promote rugby on the mainland.

They are in the city as part of a cooperation program between the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union and the mainland.

While many athletes who have won prizes in international sporting events for Hong Kong are trained on the mainland, the decision of Yu and Li might seem a little strange.

Well, there's reason behind it.

Despite the mainland's unquestionable superiority in almost all sports, Hong Kong is ranked 27th in rugby in the world, third in Asia only after Japan and South Korea, while China's world ranking stands at 40.

As the city is ready to host the annual international rugby tournament Hong Kong Sevens, which will be held from today to Sunday, all attention is now on the rugby field.

Both Yu and Li have been playing rugby for nearly 10 years. However, they will not represent China in this year's Sevens.

"There are not many rugby competitions on the mainland, but we want to get more exposure and improve our skills," Yu said.

Even though Yu and Li said they had not realized any significant differences between Hong Kong players and their mainland counterparts, they found the teammates immensely helpful. Playing with Hong Kong players has sharpened their skills.

In daily life, the teammates also help them a lot. They are particularly grateful to their teammates for buying air tickets back home during the Chinese New Year, which was difficult because of the snowstorms.

However, they still need to overcome some difficulties in Hong Kong.

Communication was once a big problem as some of their teammates and coaches are English speakers.

"I learned little English when I was on the mainland. I always thought that there's no point in learning English as I am a Chinese. I would never leave China," Yu said.

In the first year, Yu could neither speak with nor understand his teammates, and he had to depend only on other Chinese players for translation. Things were slightly better in the second year as he could understand simple English words. It was not until the third year that he could express simple ideas in English.

The other problem he faces is the less hectic training schedule in Hong Kong, which gives him more free time but also forces him to be self-disciplined even without the presence of the coach.

"I felt that I had got a lot of spare time when I first came to Hong Kong," Yu said.

In Hong Kong, rugby players only spend two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays on training. And Saturdays are for competition. But on the mainland, Yu had weekly six days of training at the China Agricultural University, where he studied and became an assistant coach for the campus rugby team.

The less hectic training means Yu has to be self-disciplined. After he put on 10 pounds from a trip back home during the lunar new year holiday, he immediately came up with a workout plan to get back in shape again. In addition to the scheduled training, Yu goes on hiking on Mondays and Wednesdays, and jogs 10,000 meters on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For Li, the most exciting experience is teaching children how to play rugby every week, which he rarely does on the mainland.

"I am very impressed by the children's enthusiasm. They are so involved in the sport and are very active," he said.

Li believed promotional campaigns targeting youngsters are the key to promote rugby in China.

"More promotional campaigns should be launched in China to recruit more players. Rugby will get people's attention if there are more talented players," he said.

Playing in Hong Kong has given them a lot of exposure and they've now learned about their shortcomings through playing in competitions. The experience has broadened their mind and they would like to go overseas, such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan, to sharpen their skills.

"I really had not thought about living in overseas countries when I was in Beijing. But after coming to Hong Kong, I have seen better players from other countries," Yu said.

(HK Edition 03/28/2008 page4)