• Greater London Authority enjoying touch rugby
• Male and female workers take to the oval ball

One of the unique aspects of the RFU’s Touch London programme is that participants can get involved at any time in almost any place.

When Susan Pape, Internal Communications Officer for the Greater London Authority, signed up for Touch London, the greatest priority was making the initial ‘taster’ sessions of touch rugby easily accessible to GLA staff from their offices at City Hall.

Susan took a quick look round the area near the South Bank, world famous for the London Eye among many other attractions, and found find a small patch of grass just off Tooley Street – and the GLA’s participation in Touch London was off and running.

Before long there were 25 GLA office workers, some of whom, like Susan, had never held a rugby ball in their lives, enjoying this fun and sociable, non-contact version of the game.

“What first attracted us to join the Touch London programme was that it was really an offer we couldn't refuse,” said Susan.

“The whole point of Touch London is to get people in workplaces out and active through touch rugby. It is fun and active and open to men and women together from every age and skill level.

“Having never even held a rugby ball myself, I was reassured that Touch London would support us by giving us a trained and qualified rugby coach who would lead the sessions along with all the rugby kit. All for free through the programme! 

“All we needed to do was get some people together who were ready and willing to give touch rugby a go.”

Susan got the word out through the GLA’s internal communications channels, including a weekly newsletter that goes out to all staff, and their Intranet.

Word of mouth was also very effective at getting more players involved. Colleagues who had really enjoyed themselves would go on to tell another colleague who would then turn up to give touch rugby a go.

Neil Smith, the RFU’s community rugby coach for Lambeth and Southwark, led the free taster sessions.

Once the bug had bitten, the group moved to Southwark Park a 15-minute walk away, and after taking a winter break the GLA’s new converts to touch rugby will be taking it up again in the spring.

“Neil was amazing at integrating the less confident players into the game - his enthusiasm and professionalism made a world of difference,” said Susan.

“I would say to other organisations in the public or private sectors to definitely give Touch London a go, you really have nothing to lose.

“Touch London is a great programme and attracted a very diverse group of staff, including colleagues who hadn't played rugby for 30 years.

“It's a great opportunity for team building and networking, it gets people out and active and best of all, it is a lot of fun.”

Phil Duffy, the RFU’s lead on Touch London, which is backed by £115,000 of funding from the Mayor of London’s Sports Legacy Fund, said: “The way the Greater London Authority established their Touch London group with taster sessions just a couple of minutes from the office shows perfectly how easy it is to get involved.

“The taster sessions run by one of our coaches are free and with kit also provided for free it really is simple to get active with a rugby ball, during or after work hours.”