Touch rugby: the future of parliamentary rugby?

In Scotland, Wales, France and Belgium, the European Parliament rugby team lately faced several teams in a still relatively unknown format: touch rugby.

Touch rugby is a non-tackling version of rugby, first developed in Australia in the 1960s. Initially, it served as a summer training exercise for rugby league players, designed to limit contact and injuries. The principle is simple: tackling is replaced by a simple touch of the hand, followed by the defending team retreating seven metres. The game quickly developed its own set of rules and spread internationally, becoming a fully-fledged, mixed, and highly accessible sport.

Inclusivity and accessibility: at a time when many teams are unsure if they can field the minimum number of MPs required by Australia for the 2027 Parliamentary World Cup, these two words are particularly appealing.

Let’s talk about accessibility first. With scrums, line-outs, rucks (etc.) excluded from touch, this version of rugby is far less complex than the fifteen-a-side game. A parliamentarian who has never played rugby can pick up the basics in just a few training sessions and approach a match confident they’ll enjoy it. If someone has handled a rugby ball earlier in life, learning will be even quicker, as the main technical skill to master is the backward pass.

Furthermore, the absence of tackling dramatically reduces physical risks—contact being responsible for about 70% of match injuries . There’s no need to hit the weights to prepare for the bumps of a match: in general, reasonable fitness and a good warm-up are enough to avoid injuries in touch. There is therefore no reason why a twenty-year-old built like Uini Atonio and a deputy three times their age can’t compete against each other.

Participation in a touch rugby tournament is thus entirely compatible with a parliamentarian’s busy agenda and the need to return to parliamentary duties in good shape after the competition, regardless of age – and gender.

Which brings us to inclusivity. Since the organisation of the first Parliamentary World Cup in 1995, parliaments have become much more gender balanced. The European Parliament, for example, is currently composed of 39% women and is presided over by a woman, Roberta Metsola, who also serves as patron of the team. It is clear that women MPs represent a considerable pool of athletes for parliamentary teams struggling to recruit.

However, two barriers hinder this recruitment: firstly, women parliamentarians are often less familiar with rugby than their male counterparts, and so are less likely to join a mixed rugby union team—especially since the contact and risk of injury can be a concern for many beginners.

Secondly, it must be acknowledged that parliamentary rugby does not always welcome them: for instance, the European Parliament’s women players were excluded from the match against England during the 2023 World Cup, with Westminster flatly refusing—ahead of the event—to play against them, citing administrative reasons barring games against women.

Organising touch rugby matches could therefore allow for better integration of women MPs, while modernising the image of the only existing interparliamentary sports competition.

Does the European Parliament therefore wish to see the end of parliamentary rugby union in favour of touch rugby? Absolutely not!

Rugby has the fortunate advantage of being divided into several phases, making it easy to accommodate both disciplines within the same match, for example with a first half of contact and a second half of touch. In fact, this was the approach taken in the European Parliament’s last two friendly matches, played against Scotland and Wales.

With this system, the next parliamentary World Cup, scheduled to take place in Australia in 2027, could allow all MPs to represent their Parliament’s colours. This is a development that perfectly aligns with the sporting ambitions of the host country: according to the latest news, Australia actually intends to propose touch rugby as an Olympic sport for the Brisbane Games in 2032.

So, are we going to see a touch of touch at the next parliamentary World Cup?