Chris Wearmouth previews the Touch Rugby World Cup, taking place in Nottingham next month
WORLD Cup cycles provide a handy barometer for the wellbeing of a sport. International interest, participation, legacy planning – just three of the many outcomes which a host nation seek to capitalise on, not forgetting the advantage which comes from playing on familiar ground.
Based on this criteria, then Touch Rugby is in rude health approaching the tenth Federation of International Touch World Cup in Nottingham this July.
The tournament statistics themselves are impressive enough:
A total of 187 teams representing 39 nations, as far afield as New Zealand, China, Chile, South Africa and Canada
Approximately 4,000 players, referees, coaches and support staff, making this one of the biggest international competitive events to be staged in England
Twenty-three fields across two sites at the University of Nottingham
Thirteen categories, all the way up to Over-55s for Men and Over40s for Women, both of which have competitions at this level for the first time
Around 1,000 matches played during seven days of competition But it is the speed to which this scale of event has been reached which reinforces the feeling within the Touch Rugby community that the sport is at a tipping point towards becoming a significant participation pastime in its own right, at both competitive and social levels.
Of course, in Australia and New Zealand, Touch Rugby (aka Touch Football) has been omnipresent for years. Indeed, Touch is Australia’s biggest participation sport and has played a role in developing future professional players in both Union and League.
Now the rest of the world is catching up, at least in terms of representation on the international stage.
The 187 teams heading to the East Midlands represents a 61 percent increase on the 116 who participated in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in 2019. It is also double the number (90) which played in Coffs Harbour, Australia, in 2015, and three-and-a-half times the number (53) which played in Edinburgh in 2011, the last time the Touch Rugby World Cup was staged in Europe.
England Touch Association Chief Executive Officer, and Touch World Cup Event Director, Chris Simon, says that Touch Rugby’s growth has been nothing short of remarkable, especially given the enforced break in competition experienced – along with all sport – during the pandemic years.
“When we started to plan the World Cup we anticipated some growth compared to 2019, but nothing like the number of entries which were received,” he reflects. “Some categories have expanded dramatically, and I don’t think that anyone imagined the breadth and depth of the increase in participating teams and nations.
“It has meant that we have had to scale up the size of the event, and I am grateful both for how
