The China Lions is a professional rugby union team that was formed in 2020 to compete in the

Global Rapid Rugby Global Rapid Rugby was an international rugby union competition that launched a showcase series for six professional teams in 2019, played in locations across the Asia-Pacific region. Rapid Rugby matches are slightly shorter than the tradition ...

competition across the

Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...

region. It is a joint venture between the

China Rugby Football Association China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and New Zealand's Bay of Plenty Rugby Union.

History

For their first season in 2020 the Lions intended to host three of their home games in China at Shanghai and two in New Zealand at the Rotorua International Stadium. Due to health concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the Lions only played one match in the schedule, a 29–22 away win over the

Fijian Latui The Fijian Latui is a professional rugby union team based in Suva that plays in the Global Rapid Rugby competition. Officially launched in March 2019, the Latui played four Pacific Showcase matches during May and June 2019, before joining the i ...

in Suva.

Records

Head coaches

* Mike Rogers (2020)

Captains

Hugh Blake Hugh Blake (born 10 September 1992) is a New Zealand born Scottish international rugby union footballer who plays as a flanker for . He previously played for Glasgow Warriors. Rugby union career Amateur career He was a Premier player for th ...

(2020)

Squads

China Lions – 2020 Global Rapid Rugby *

Greg Pleasants-Tate Greg Pleasants-Tate (born 12 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who has played as a hooker for Bay of Plenty, North Harbour, Auckland, Canterbury and Southland in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Blues and Highlanders in t ...

Nic Souchon Nic Souchon (born 13 August 1997) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who currently plays for Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby (MLR). Early life During high school, Souchon attended Hamilton Boys High School, and achieved and ...

* Nico Aandewiel *

Haereiti Hetet Haereiti Hetet (born 10 July 1997) is a Fijian rugby union player who plays for Bay of Plenty in the National Provincial Championship. His playing position is prop. He made his Fiji debut in 2020 against Georgia Georgia most commonly refers t ...

Tevita Mafileo Tevita Mafileo (born 4 February 1998, in New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for the in Super Rugby. His playing position is prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen b ...

Solomona Sakalia Solomona Sakalia (born 2 February 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a loosehead prop for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition. In October 2012, he was named in the squad for t ...

* Tevita Sole * Apitoni Toia * Viliami Leo Tosi *

Li Haitao Li Haitao (; born 29 November 1995) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Chinese club Tongji University. Club career Li Haitao was promoted to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning's first team squad by Choi Yong-soo in 2017. He ...

Iosefa Maloney-Fiaola Iosefa is a Samoan name. It may refer to the following people: ;Given name *Iosefa Enari (1954–2000), New Zealand opera singer ** Iosefa Enari Memorial Award *Joe Tekori (Joseph Iosefa Tekori; born 1983), Samoan rugby union player ;Surname *Joe ...

Ray Tatafu Raymond Tatafu (born 14 February 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Counties Manukau in the National Provincial Championship. His playing position is lock. Born in Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tong ...

Stan van den Hoven Stan van den Hoven (born 22 November 1998) is a Dutch rugby union player, currently playing for the New England Free Jacks of Major League Rugby (MLR) and in the National Provincial Championship. His preferred position is lock. Professional car ...

Kohan Herbert Kohan may refer to: People * Kohan (surname) * Kōhan Kawauchi (1920–2008) Places * Kohan, Kerman, a village in Kerman Province, Iran * Kohan, Semnan, a village in Semnan Province, Iran * Gaz Kohan * Kohan Chenar * Pir Kohan * Rob-e Ko ...

* Joe Johnston *

Liu Luda / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...

Hoani Matenga Hoani Matenga is a professional rugby player and musician. He has represented New Zealand in the Maori All Blacks, and has played professionally in France, Japan, Spain and New Zealand. Matenga is also known as a musician, as an early member of ...

Abraham Papali'i Abraham Papali'i (born 20 June 1993) is a professional rugby player from New Zealand. He has played both rugby union and rugby league professionally. Papali'i currently plays rugby union for CA Brive Corrèze Limousin in France as back row. He l ...

Gao Yinghao Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an imp ...

* Luke Campbell * Leroy Carter *

Te Aihe Toma Te Aihe Toma (born 15 March 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who currently plays as a Halfback for the Steamers in the Mitre 10 Cup. He also featured for Dunedin-based Super Rugby franchise, the , during the 2016 season. P ...

* Dan Hollinshead * Solofa Silipa * Dwayne Sweeney * Joe Johnston *

James Little James Little may refer to: * James Little (American politician), Wisconsin State Assemblyman * James Little (British politician) (1868–1946), unionist politician in Northern Ireland * James Little (physician) (1837–1916), Irish physician * J ...

* Mathew Skipwith-Garland * Declan Barnett * Tyler Campbell * Dan Changshun * Fa'asiu Fuatai * Pryor Collier * Liam Coombes-Fabling Notes: Bold denotes player is internationally capped.

References

External links

China Lions
{{Global Rapid Rugby Rugby union teams in China Rugby union teams in New Zealand Global Rapid Rugby teams Rugby clubs established in 2020 Rugby union clubs disestablished in 2020 2020 disestablishments in China