How Touch Rugby Can Improve Its Sister-Sport

As the regular season comes to a close in the Northern Hemisphere it is back to pre-season training for the elite players and an international tour if they are very lucky. The amateur game however, stops in the off season and players lose fitness and match practice. It does not have to be this way, whilst rugby union is on hold; it is a chance to try another format of the game.

Touch rugby is one of the fastest growing sports around at the moment and it is both challenging and enjoyable. The view that most people have of touch rugby is of the game that most people would have played at school. The game was very slow and if you had any rugby ability, easy. Touch is far from this, it is a fast paced, challenging sport in its own right. It relies on impeccable fitness and very good basic skills.

In some ways, a well drilled touch defence is more difficult to break down than a union defence. There is no ‘crash-ball’ which is such a popular tactic in union nowadays. It is a purer form of rugby which relies on guile and agility. Even at the top levels I have found myself watching games thinking that a team lacks the guile to open up a defence. Touch rugby could help players at any level to improve this aspect of their game.

It has strong links to rugby league and the most popular version of the sport is the ‘six touch’ format where the ball is turned over after six touches. This obviously creates a need to use the ball effectively while you are in control of it. In South Africa, they even have a version of the game which is ‘one touch’. Something that Southern Hemisphere side are continually superior in is ball retention, and making the right decisions with the ball. Touch rugby no doubt helps to improve these skills.

It is perhaps unsurprising that this format of rugby harks from the Southern Hemisphere. It is particularly big in Australia and New Zealand. These nations dominate the world and several of their union players played it growing up. Mils Muliaina played touch for New Zealand, as did Mark Mayerhofler, Frank Bunce and Eric Rush. Peter Walters, the elite development manager for Touch Rugby in New Zealand told me that “All Blacks coach Steve Hansen played in the same team as I in the NZ open men’s team in 1986.” He was quick to point out that he “was a lot smaller then!”

Walters believes that Touch can be very important in helping to nurture talent. He informed me that “in New Zealand; rugby realizes the value a touch background brings things like superior catch and pass skills. As well as this it develops a good understanding of alignment and realignment, the ability to communicate on the run and good running lines.”

Touch could be used both an introduction into rugby for child, right up to elite union players improving their handling skills. Being as the game is only played on a pitch area of 50m x 70m space is at a premium and needs to be created with movement.

These are skills that can be the difference between winning and losing a match at the top level and for children to learn the skills at such a young age is brilliant. Encouraging young children into the game is a real focus in British rugby at the moment. It is no secret that participation levels are dropping in all sports in Britain, therefore, rugby needs to market itself effectively to attract into children to playing.

The non-contact element certainly makes it more accessible, and allows for both boys and girls to play together. At a young age this helps to get young people playing sport, given the versatility of the game it can even be enjoyed as a family. The mixed gender goes all the way to the elite level of touch rugby and is one of the few sports in the world where men and women are on an equal footing.

This is another reason to play touch rugby, should it inspire young people to go on into full contact is irrelevant, getting them playing sport is the primary objective.

Each of the home nations within the British Isles are starting to see the benefits of touch rugby and are revamping the current setups. O2 Touch in England has been in place for the last couple of seasons and is constantly attracting more players. On seeing the success over the border Wales have revamped their touch rugby system, to the glossy new WRU Touch.

George North playing at the launch of WRU Touch earlier this year

Branching out like this is an important step in the development of rugby as a whole. It is a chance to encourage people who would not normally be involved in rugby to play the game. It also develops very good core skills and very good fitness. Touch rugby is no longer the sport sniggered at by players of the full contact game, but one that is respected in its own right.