The Lady Tigers, a grass-roots women’s rugby team from Fuzhou city in Fujian province, hit the field running at the first National Female Rugby Tournament in Xiamen.

Fuzhou Lady Tigers, in yellow, take on Ruck-us League of China in Xiamen, Nov 8. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The fledging team, only set up in June with just 15 players, showed energy and passion through five round-robin matches.

Liu Yaoyao, vice captain, said she took great pride in efforts by her teammates despite the fact the team has a long way to go.

“Unlike other veteran teams, most of our crew are Chinese. But we were just as tough as any team out there,” she said.

“You can see that all of them are so fired-up in the game and there was great teamwork as well”.

Liu herself set a perfect example. After pulling out of the fifth game with a rib injury, she watched from the touchline and cheered every play by her teammates.

“I love rugby and so do my teammates. We’ll stick together and play more in future,” she said.

The round-robin tournament ran from 8 am until 4 pm, with Ruck-us League of China from Sichuan province emerging the eventual champion.

Xiamen Mazus, Beijing Shedevils, Shenzhen Dragons and West China Warriors, as well as the Lady Tigers and the champion, made up the six-team field.

Two men’s teams - Xiamen Typhoons and Fuzhou Tigers - played on the sideline of the women’s competition.