Touch Rugby World Cup 2011

Touch rugby is a fast-growing minority sport, and is my favourite team game. It is minimal contact, requires minimal equipment, and can be played by both sexes, even in mixed teams. It is very sociable. Imagine normal rugby with the pack and tackles removed, leading to a faster-paced game, based more on skill than brute strength. For a glasses wearer like me, unable to head a football or get involved in a rugby tackle, it is ideal. Any week in summer you will see people in the likes of the Meadows or Inverleith Park in Edinburgh playing the game.

And the World Cup is currently being played right here in Edinburgh, right now!

Last night I went along to Peffermill to watch some games. It's free to go and you can wander around the site at will, watching whatever game takes your fancy.

Australia v New Zealand men:


It is great to see top players in your favourite sport strutting their stuff. A couple of the teams from countries with no hinterland of playing touch were not significantly superior to those you would see in the Edinburgh leagues of a weekday evening - one of the joys of playing a minority sport is seeing that the lower levels of the international scene are not that far outwith your own grasp. But other teams at the top level were breathtaking in their skill, especially the Australian women, who play at an entirely different level to any of their competitors, or the French mixed team, who play with an entertainingly direct, attacking flair.

France v Switzerland mixed:


You can read more about the world cup here:

http://www.touchworldcup2011.co.uk

Perhaps I will see you at the final on Sunday!