Age is no problem in rugby, it is the skills and experience that matter.

A Fuzhou Tigers player (yellow) goes after his opponent in a game against the Taipei Giants in Fuzhou, Fujian province, Aug 29. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

It is a hard fact for the Fuzhou Tigers, who were trashed by the Taipei Giants 80-24 in a cross-Straits friendly game in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, on Aug 29.

What makes the fiasco more baffling is that Tigers players are 30 years old on average, while most of their opponents are within the 40 to 60 range.

Age is not the only difference between the teams. The Tigers are a local team with a history of five years, whereas the Giants have been a rugby powerhouse in Taiwan for nearly five decades.

The young and passionate Tigers scored the first point of the game. But the road team stayed calm and demolished them with excellent tactics and efficient executions on both ends of the field.

The Tigers changed the conventional views that rugby is a sport for foreigners five years ago. Now, the Giants proved it is a sport for both young and old.

The friendly was more than a game. It is a bridge that will help increase cross-Strait cultural and sports communication, according to Wu Lusheng, president of the Tigers Club.

“We’re honored to get to compete against the Giants and learn from them. We also wish to start a large-scale rugby tournament in the future,” he said.

“We’ve been paying attention to the growth of the Fuzhou Tigers,” said Wang Anqi, vice president of Yipiao.com, one of the games’ sponsors. “Rugby is an emerging sport in China. We hope to contribute to the mass sport through sponsoring more of these events.”