JERSEY touch rugby has made great strides over recent years, with high-profile wins in some of sport’s biggest competitions proving the Island has become a real force at the highest levels.
With the sport’s local scene gathering momentum, as well as Jersey’s competitive teams continuing to make a dent internationally, I couldn’t wait to make my way up to the rugby club and try the game for myself.
Let’s find out more
Touch rugby – not to be confused with tag – is a game derived from rugby league in which players don’t tackle each other, but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing or the ball. Minimal force must be used, so touch rugby is considered a limited-contact sport.
The original, basic rules were established in the 1960s, by members of professional rugby-league outfit South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club Bob Dyke and Ray Vawdon, who are considered the founders of the touch game.
On 13 July 1968, the South Sydney Touch Football Club was formed, launching the sport. The first match was played late that year, as well as the first official competition – also organised by Dyke and Vawdon – which was held at Rowland Park, Sydney.
However, the game only began spreading to other regions in 1972, when it was first played in Brisbane. Representative fixtures took place in 1973 between the Australian States of Queensland and New South Wales, before 1985 witnessed to the sport’s first international match, between Australia and New Zealand.
Since then, the sport has continued to grow, and its popularity is exemplified by participation statistics at the prestigious Touch World Cup.
Almost three decades after just five nations competed on Australia’s Gold Coast for the inaugural event, the last edition of the competition in 2024 drew a whopping 39 nations playing across 23 pitches, with thousands of players and spectators in attendance.
This growth has spread to our shores, with the Jersey Touch Association putting themselves on the map – but there’s great potential to grow even further.
“Touch rugby is in a better place over here right now than in previous years – having more youngsters playing the game has been a big help,” said Tim Macready, chairman of the Jersey Touch Association.
“We have loads going on at the minute. Everyone from school-age players to over-60s gathers on Monday nights at the rugby club. Our social Mixed Touch Rugby Summer League is kicking off on 27 April, and we have many teams preparing for big international competitions.
“The potential for growth here is huge, Look at university touch in the UK, which has exploded – Exeter alone has more than 200 people playing. It’s already the most-played social sport in Australia. It’s unique, and the sky really is the limit.”
What’s behind such huge potential for growth? Macready explained: “Touch is such a unique game. People really enjoy the mixed element where men and women play on an equal footing – with the tackles just being touches, it’s pretty equal between [genders].
“Touch is just so accessible as a sport – it’s like what you have with football where people use jumpers for goalposts, all you need is a ball and a tryline, so you can play it anywhere.
The fact that a tackle is literally he slightest touch opens it up to even more people.
“It’s also quite an easy sport to pick up. Of course, things can get quite complicated when you get to the international stage, but I’m more interested in the aspect of just turning up to pass, catch and run forward.
“With the constantly rotating subs, everyone gets a touch of the ball, which isn’t something you get in a lot of sports.
“There’s so much room to grow. For now, it’s all about putting the infrastructure in place to allow that.”
As a touch player, Macready delved into his own experience to explain what’s kept him coming back all these years, saying: “For me, it’s the people, the ambition and pure enjoyment of it that have kept me in the sport. The people come first – it’s such a laugh and everyone is so friendly.
“It’s so inclusive. You can keep playing a competitive sport at a half-decent level, no matter your age – you can take it as far as you want.”
Although the potential for growth is “huge”, Jersey has already come leaps and bounds to “put the Island on the map” – exhibited through their great run at the World Cup in 2024, which took place in Nottingham.
There, Jersey’s Mixed Open managed to come an impressive 10th place out of the 26 teams in the category, winning five of their seven group games before racking up an impressive win against Italy in the 9th–16th rankings, but just fell short in the 9th/10th play-off against Scotland.
Meanwhile, the Caesareans’ Men’s 45s defied all expectations to reach the quarter finals after coming third in their group, which included the game’s titans, Australia.
Jersey bested Fiji and Spain along the way, before France beat them in the quarter final and England came out on top in the play-offs to leave them at seventh overall – a remarkable achievement.
“When [Jersey] played Fiji, they hadn’t even heard of us. However, our performances definitely put everyone on notice, and you could tell teams knew they had to take us seriously,” Macready added.
From those results, it only seems Jersey have continued to push on with their aspirations, with many teams preparing for big competitions. The Over-50s and Mixed Open squads are preparing to compete in July’s European Championships, as well as two teams are entered to compete in the National Cup, which is scheduled to take place in June.
Also, the upcoming social Mixed Touch Rugby Summer League looks set to boost the sport, with an adapted rule-set aimed at encouraging wider participation.
At least one woman must be on the field at all times, and if a woman scores, it will be double points – adding further initiative to encourage more women to give it a go. For more information, email league@jerseytouch.org.
Touch rugby has also proved to help develop the playing careers of many local players, not just in touch but rugby in general. Chief of these has to be Seren Coombs, whose impressive performances on the pitch have earned call-ups to the U18 and U21 England Women’s squads.
“We have a great crossover with Jersey RFC. Four of their Colts players made appearances with the senior squads this year – two for the seconds and two for the firsts – with all playing touch rugby. This enables them to refine the skills and fundamentals of the game – this shows that it works,” said the chairman.
When asked why people should come down and give it a go, Macready replied: “It is such a great sport, and you can take it as far you want.
“If you just want to meet new people and have a laugh, then that’s great, but there is the option to go up the levels and take it further.
“Everyone is so friendly and you can get a great social network out of it – I’ve met friends for life through touch rugby. Just follow us on social media – Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Turn up on a Monday night and get involved.
“It’s ‘pitch up and play’, and is just £4 a session. It’s great seeing new faces, so you’re more than welcome to turn up, join in and learn the game.”
Time to get the boots on
Now, it was time to slide the boots on, get warm and put my skills to the test. As someone who played a bit of rugby in school, I must admit I thought this was going to be pretty easy – just touches and no tackles, light stuff – but I was quickly proved wrong.
After a quick warm-up, we started with several mini games of three-on-two, where three attackers would be pitted against two attackers in a small squared space. I was pretty keen to make an impression, and my ego got in the way a bit early on as I tried to make a few twisty runs – let’s just say some had more effect than others.
To my surprise, I found touch more difficult than regular rugby. Without the physical elements of powering through tackles, pushing people off and slipping through, it takes just the faintest touch to stop you in your tracks.
As it had been a few years, my passing could have done with some improvement – so I kept on looking for openings.
I had a bit of pace on my counterparts and I finally managed to break through, just avoiding the touch to run through and score – sneaking it in like that felt great.
That was the highlight of that game for me, however, because I was unable to score another try for the remainder. The space was so tight – that’s the excuse I’m going with, anyway.
After that, it was time to get into a proper game, which did leave me confused a bit at times, as I was bunched up with the more experienced players.
After being told I had “the pace for it”, I was placed on the wing – so all I had to do was position myself out wide, catch the ball and go for the run.
This sounded easy enough, but there was a lot of waiting for the right moment until I finally got a chance to make a dent. However, it ended all too quickly as I couldn’t dodge the touch.
I got a good few touches on the ball, some more successful more than others – I had a tragic drop right on the try line – and the rotating subs meant everyone had an equal go.
Admittedly, I made a couple of errors, but the coaching staff were so helpful in guiding the way and helping me wherever necessary.
It wasn’t the most action-packed match for me, given my lack of experience, but the amount I learned in such a little time just went to show how quickly you can pick up the game – before you know it, you’ll be getting stuck in.
