Wales sends biggest ever squad to Touch Rugby World Cup

Steve Higgs

This is a huge moment for the sport of ‘Touch’ in the northern hemisphere. For Wales, it is the biggest squad (spanning many age groups) ever fielded in a sport whose global appeal continues to grow at pace.

It was in 2003 that I first witnessed Touch played at the highest level (six players aside – six touches until possession is conceded). I was with the Wales team at a World Cup held in Kumagaya, Japan. There was a young Kiwi player called Benji Marshall (subsequently a rugby league world cup winner) whose dazzling speed and ball skills were utterly jaw-dropping. We were all completely hooked by what we were witnessing. It was early days for the Welsh team in terms of player-base, but the experience gained at that second ever World Cup, together with treasured friendships, has contributed to a point where Wales now has an unprecedented 11 teams featuring on the sport’s biggest stage.

Nottingham is hosting the seventh Touch World Cup, the largest ever, with close to 1000 matches to be played over seven days involving thirty nine countries ranging from China to the Cook Islands. In the context of a UK-based competitive international sporting event, barring high-profile marathons, the organisers believe only the Olympics and Commonwealth Games have been bigger.

Notably, Wales will have more than two hundred competitors, coaches, managers and physios taking part – including 7 men’s teams, 2 women’s teams, and 2 mixed teams. Mixed mens/womens teams now comprise a hugely competitive category, with Wales current European Champions at Open level, a testament to how inclusive the sport is.

It was a New Zealander based in Cardiff, Dave Swain, who first introduced touch rugby into Wales in the 1990s – a sport at the time played primarily in the southern hemisphere. He is integral to the story of Welsh Touch which has its roots in summer club competitions.

By the time of the inaugural Touch World Cup in 1999, it was a group predominantly made up of Cardiffians, supplemented with some Australian based players, who lined up for the Men’s Open division in Sydney, Australia (the Australians will be hot favourites for gold medals again this year). What those Welsh players brought back from Australia (in particular Moro Smith who would, through the noughties, go on to coach hundreds of players in Wales) offered a vital catalyst for the elite level of touch we see being played across Wales today.

So it’s grown. From just a single men’s team at first. Then to include women, mixed and age grade teams who would fly the flag at subsequent World Cups in Stellenbosch, Edinburgh, Coffs Harbour and (in 50 degree heat at times!) in Kuala Lumpur.

It’s at a European level where Wales has notched up its greatest successes. The European Championships take place biannually and it’s here that player development in the northern hemisphere has and continues to thrive.

English teams have generally dominated, at first by exploiting the availability of the many southern hemisphere players based in London. More recently, however, considerable home grown talent is emerging alongside a huge growth in the sport in England (including in British universities where interest in touch is soaring).

But Wales has also delivered some stunning successes. In the last 15 years fifty Welsh teams have been involved in European championships. As a nation we’ve won five European Touch titles, and there’s been a golden thread running through each one of those successful teams…the Carroll family.

Three Carroll brothers – Nick, Alex and Chris – who hail from the village of Efail Isaf in south Wales (they used to play for Llantwit Fardre RFC) will take the field together in Nottingham in the Wales Men’s 50s team. They have six gold medals between them at previous European championships following victories in the 35+ and 40+ age categories.

Upholding the family contribution, Nick’s son Owen has himself racked up two gold medals having played a crucial role in Wales becoming European champions twice at Mixed Open level. All four Carrolls will be in the Welsh squad at this World Cup – an extraordinary achievement given trials now attract hundreds of quality players across the country.

Pivotal to the Welsh teams’ success has been the role of its tournament physios, led by Prof Nicola Phillips OBE. With previous involvement in teams at both Olympic and Commonwealth level, she’ll have a group of nine physios from Cardiff University in Nottingham. Given the intense fitness requirements to play touch rugby – and a World Cup player pool ranging from 16 to 60 – the demands on the physios are relentless. At the last tournament in Vichy, France, she recorded 530 treatments for the Welsh team. She’s a big fan of the sport: “It’s such an exciting sport to watch and a great learning experience for our students. And how many other sports have a truly mixed male/female element like this? It’s a really inclusive sport which keeps people healthy. It’s incredible really”.

The development of Touch in Wales is due to a growing number of dedicated managers, physios, committee members and coaching teams who have given the country a fantastic opportunity to take on the world’s best.

It’s a thrill for me personally to see how the sport has grown here. It provides an excellent opportunity for young players to hone their skills and gives older team members an incentive to continue team sports in their latter years. I hope this world cup will showcase this sport leading to further growth – and introduce many more to a fantastic and hugely rewarding sport.

The Touch World Cup 2024, takes place between July 15 – 21 in Nottingham

Follow the Wales squad’s exploits at the World Cup via Instagram