Today Radio chats with Junior Touch player, Alessia Hancock, and coach, Nick Frank / © Today Radio
An unknown sport in Luxembourg, but looking to grow — touch rugby is on the rise and looking for new members!
A sport with growing aspirations in the Grand-Duchy, touch rugby has an engaging and inclusive outlook which could see growth in the sport. The first boundary, however is getting the sport known. This weekend Terres Rouges Touch organised their first tournament which is a step in the right direction.
Nick Franck, a touch coach / president, and Alessia Hancock, a junior touch player, met the Sunny Side Up team to talk growth, the upcoming touch World Cup and just the fun of playing the sport.
The vision for touch in our country is to become the number one mixed sport, a lofty ambition. However, considering the number of mixed sports that exist, it is by no means unattainable — having grown from 30 members to having around 130 members. There is a corporate league in place which is both mixed and non-mixed, which has around 120 players playing each week. So the sport is already on the rise!
The inclusive nature of the sport stems from the fact that it is low contact and very structured which enables all ages and genders of varying shapes and sizes to enjoy playing together, explained Nick. Exemplified by Alessia who first started playing aged at 8-years-old. She elaborated on the great team ethos, the fast nature and simply how fun it is!
Rugby can be packaged in many different forms: there is rugby union, league, sevens and, recently, rugby X but these are all very physical, whereas touch rugby which is most similar to rugby league (in that you have 6 phases until the ball gets turned over) eliminates the contact area to a simple touch to stop an opponent. All about space creation and fast play but there is also a very tactical side to it. Played with 6 players on the pitch but a squad of 14 and rolling subs, the sport is just pure high-octane energy.
Exciting news for the Luxembourg national touch team too as they will be participating at the touch rugby World Cup in Nottingham in July. 40 nations and over 3500 players make it a huge event where Luxembourg will be hoping to put their name on the international touch map against tough opposition in England, Australia and Ireland.
Listen here to Today Radio's recent interview all about Touch Rugby in Luxembourg, or through the audio player below:
The tournament
After only existing for nine months, Terres Rouges Touch hosted their first international tournament with teams from England, the Netherlands, and Germany, right here in the Grand Duchy. Men, women, boys and girls aged 12–60 years thus played the tournament, a celebration of the unique, inclusive nature of the sport of touch rugby.
Terres Rouges Touch themselves lost in the plate final against the Trier Touch barbarian team, but it was a creditable performance from both of these newly created Touch clubs.
The GrowthStages team, made up of RCL’s Junior players, did fantastically well to make the 3rd/4th play-off game, losing to Eindhoven Touch in a closely fought game. In the final, RCL Lightning lost 7-1 against a very good representative side from the South East England Touch Association (SETA).
With a mix of experienced internationals and young prospects, the players came not only to win, but more importantly to help develop the sport of touch rugby in Luxembourg. The athletes showed breath-taking pace and an effortless flow that made the game look so easy.
© Unsplash / Hanson Lu
To some, having a mixed team playing a men's team sounds like a mismatch, but in the world of 'Touch', skills and teamwork trump speed and force. When asked why she enjoys playing mixed touch, Wales international Amy said: "The best part of mixed touch is the equality between men and women."
The final game of the event showcased women’s touch, with two select teams made up of a mix of the 25 players who participated in the mixed tournament.
A great day all round, promoting not only the sport of touch rugby in the Grand-Duchy, but also the spirit and social side of a sport that lives and breathes inclusivity.
If you are interested in getting involved in touch rugby then you can join on Tuesdays at Boy Konen in Cessange and Thursdays at Terre Rouges in Dudelange.
