Locker room stories: Touch rugby

Sports are perhaps the best means of integrating into a city. Young and old, newcomers and born 'Eindhovenaren', all meet on fields and courts for weekly matches and a chat afterward. It's the perfect way to unwind and encounter new people. In this series, we visit three teams from Eindhoven and ask what sports mean to them. In this last episode we meet the players of Eindhoven Touch.

It looks like regular rugby, but then without the rough tackles. In touch rugby, it's all about tapping the opponent carrying the ball. Touch rugby is particularly popular in countries such as Australia, South Africa, France and the United Kingdom, and for a few years in Eindhoven too. The team, a mix of internationals and locals, practices at Genderpark on Saturday mornings. On Wednesday evenings the training is in Valkenswaard.

The atmosphere is open and fun. No experience is totally fine. And if you feel like playing tournaments throughout the Netherlands and abroad, you will find passionate teammates here. There is a lot of turnover with the many expats, but you also make new friends quickly. The Irish Pub is a popular hangout outside workouts. To watch the 6th Nations together, for example, the most famous rugby tournament of the northern hemisphere.

Would you like to join a session? You are more than welcome. Send a message to Eindhoven Touch.