About Us

Touch Rugby or TOUCH, as it is known, is a minimal-contact sport that is played worldwide by both adults and children. The game emphasises running, agility and ball-handling skills such as passing and catching.

Looking something similar to Rugby, the aim of the game is to score tries, but without the tackling, scrumming, lineouts and kicking. Played on half the size of a conventional sports field, Touch is an enjoyable game that can be picked up in an afternoon.

While there are opportunities to play Touch competitively, our In 2 Touch leagues and tournaments are played at varied social levels with friends, colleagues, family and is also a great way to meet new people in the surrounding area. Whether you are a complete beginner, are looking to play a form of rugby in the off season or haven’t played Touch for some time, players of all abilities, ages, gender identities are welcome.

The main aim of the game is for each team to score Tries and to prevent the opposition from scoring (one try = one point). Teams are made up of 6 players on the field at any given time, with up to 8 substitutes on the side line. Teams are categorised into Mixed, Women’s and Men’s divisions (social mixed teams = 4 male + 2 female players, although we encourage teams to play with a 3/3 split of males and females). Players can substitute anytime during the game and as often as they like.
Teams are either attacking (if they have possession of the ball) or defending (if they are trying to prevent the other team from scoring). Attacking players must perform a ‘roll ball’ (between the legs) once a touch between them and a defender has been affected. Defenders must retire 7 meters from the ‘roll ball’ mark. After 6 touches, the possession changes to the other team for their turn at attack. Penalties are awarded for a variety of infringements including, forward pass, offside, touch-and-pass, roll-ball over the mark and over-vigorous play. The length of games very depending on the league or tournament organiser. However, the standard game length is two 20-minute halves.

• Leagues typically last between 4 to 8 weeks, depending on the league you enter into.
• Games are run year-round, with leagues taking place in all four seasons, with most leagues taking place over spring and summer.
• Running mainly on weekday evenings, generally from 6:00 pm or later, with some weekend leagues.
• Games are typically 40-minutes long (two 20-minute halves), please do check each league when entering as game length does vary from time to time.
• Touch is played on a pitch half the size of an average rugby pitch
• Our leagues are similar to 5-a-side football, i.e. each league takes place on specific days of the week, with all games being played at that venue.
• Players/teams sign up for the whole season, and each team plays a minimum of one game per week.
• All teams are graded according to their ability, meaning you will play teams at the same level as you and your team.

Although played to a wider extent on a social level, there are now burgeoning commercial leagues in England, Scotland, South Africa and New Zealand. There are also regular school competitions and development clinics spreading the game of Touch to everyone. The official governing body of the sport is known as the Federation of International TOUCH (FIT).