How to play touch rugby

Touch rugby takes about ten minutes to learn and a lifetime to argue about. Here is everything you need before your first evening with us.

The basics

Two teams, one ball, a rectangle of grass. The team with the ball moves it up the pitch by running and passing; the defending team stops them by touching the ball carrier with one hand. There is no tackling, no scrums, no lineouts and no kicking.

When you are touched, you stop where you are, put the ball on the ground and step over it. A team-mate picks it up and play carries on. Every pass has to go backwards or sideways, never forwards. You score by grounding the ball over the opposition line.

A team gets a set number of touches to score. Use them all without scoring and possession changes hands. Nobody is going to shout at you for getting this wrong in your first game.

Our house rules

We are not playing to a rule book. Over the years we have settled on a simplified version that keeps the game moving and keeps everyone in one piece: mixed teams every week, no contest for the ball on the ground, and no arguing with the person who has the loudest voice.

Teams get picked on the night, so nobody has a fixed side and the balance changes as people arrive. If you turn up halfway through, you go in at the next restart.

If you want the proper version, Touch Switzerland publishes the official rules: touchswitzerland.ch.

What a Thursday evening looks like

People start arriving at the Kreuzbleiche from around 18:00. There is no formal warm-up, just passing the ball about while we wait to see how many turn up. Somewhere between 18:00 and 18:30 someone counts heads, splits the teams and we start.

We play more or less continuously until about 20:00, with breaks when someone needs one. Afterwards, whoever is up for it stays on the grass with a beer, or moves on to the Billard Pub around the corner. That part is optional but it is half the reason most of us keep coming back.

What to bring

• Shorts and a T-shirt. Bring a spare layer for winter.
• Football or rugby boots with moulded studs if you have them. Trainers are fine when the ground is dry.
• Water.
• Optional: a couple of beers and something to eat for afterwards.

You do not need a ball, a kit or anything with a club badge on it. There is no club badge.

We are a group of private individuals, not an official club. You take part at your own risk and under your own insurance, and we accept no liability for injuries, damage or theft.