Touch Rugby players from three Eastern Counties based rugby clubs – Woodbridge, Harwich & Dovercourt and Wymondham - are fizzing with excitement this week as they prepare to compete in the National O2 Touch Finals Day at Twickenham Stadium, the home of the England RFU, on Saturday (10^th).

All three of the clubs have embraced Touch Rugby whole-heartedly over recent seasons and have all been selected to compete against nine other sides from around the country following their video entries on a special Facebook page.

“In Eastern Counties we embraced the idea that Touch Rugby would provide a real benefit to our clubs and we’ve encouraged all of our clubs to take part,” says Lee Adamson, the RFU’s Eastern Counties Rugby Development Officer. “What’s surprised club organisers is just how many people have been keen and enthusiastic about playing Touch Rugby.”

Touch Rugby is proving to be the ideal way of introducing new players, both men and women, to the rugby union game while it also helps established injured players convalesce from their injuries and also accommodates players not wishing to get involved in the physical aspect of the 15 a-side game. 

It’s great fun too and very sociable and all three of the teams competing at Twickenham this weekend have embraced Touch Rugby in different ways.

Woodbridge RFC, for instance, have worked hard with their local authority and their local pubs to set up Sunday afternoon Touch Rugby sessions with each pub hosting the after match socialising while Harwich & Dovercourt RFC enjoy a Friday night Touch Rugby Festival on the seafront featuring local businesses and a wacky theme for each evening.

Wymondham RFC on the other hand has been running Touch Rugby sessions for the past few years every Thursday evening at the club in the summer and at Easton College during the winter.  This was started by 3 of the mini’s coaches over a beer at the club beer festival. Touch rugby has now been embedded in the fabric of the club and caters for all abilities and needs. “Just like most things in rugby, we were having a jar or two and felt we had grown out of contact rugby but still wanted to carry on playing. The rest is history, with 60+ people turning up through the summer. We have players from their teens through to 62, men and women, folk who have never played any form of rugby, Players from senior teams using it as rehab from injury and some just for the socials”, said Gary Smith. “We even have had some players involved in touch at an international level”

On Saturday the 12 competing teams, each comprising 10 players, are all expected to arrive at Twickenham Stadium in time for breakfast and to watch England’s opening Pool B Rugby World Cup 2011 match against Argentina in New Zealand that kicks-off at 9.30am.

After a team briefing they will then compete between 12.30pm and 3.30pm initially in three pools of four playing touch rugby on a round robin basis before being re-pooled and competing again to decide their days overall ranking positions.

The presentations will then be made at 4.15pm by former England fly-half and the RFU’s Rugby Operations Director Rob Andrew from the Stadium’s Royal Box.