Dundee Touch has just had its best season since the Covid pandemic for both numbers and standard of play, a year after it wasn’t clear there would be a season at all. In Kinross, more than 100 people turned out for a single training day.
Clubs and hubs
Martin from Dundee Touch calls it a season of renewal. Dundee Touch began the year unsure whether a new season was possible, because pitch hire had become too expensive. The club then reached an agreement with the new Greenfield Academy and started its summer season there. The pitch is new and flat, and the touch played on it was of a high standard all season. To stay part of the school community, Dundee Touch gave £300 towards new rugby strips for the Academy’s teams. Wu Tag Clan won the league. The club wants more women and girls playing next, and to send a team to open tournaments around Scotland.
In the North East, the summer league was shorter than usual. Hoodlums won it and Firebirds won the Cup. Midway through the league, players held a food collection drive for a local charity. Iain from North East Touch says the association is working with Active Schools again this autumn to run touch rugby for P6 and P7 pupils, and has started youth-only sessions. North East had a record number of its own players at the European Youth Touch Championships, and a strong contingent at the European Touch Championships in Vichy.
In Aberdeen, social touch runs every Saturday morning and has turned into one of the city’s best ways of finding new players. Several have joined after walking past and seeing a game in progress.
Touch is expanding north. A Nairn Touch session was due to run on 28 September 2026 at Nairn Links, Forres, with Nairn Touch running the event.
Training
Aberdeen also runs a junior session every Monday. It is open to everyone, and numbers are still going up.
The Kinross training day drew more than 100 people across all age groups and genders. Every category had good numbers, and the weather held for a day in the sun.
Coming up
The next open training is on 18 October, with more training sessions to follow in November. Players looking to step up should put the October date in the diary now.
Expressions of interest have gone out for the Senior European Cup in Portugal next year. Expressions of interest for the Academy and for the Opens will follow soon, so players aiming for either should watch for them.
Expressions of interest are also open for coaches of the Senior and Mixed Open sides. Anyone who wants to coach at that level can register interest now.
The Scottish Touch Association is putting together a 2027 playing calendar and needs volunteers to help run and support tournaments. Anyone with time to give on a tournament day can put their name forward.
The Atlantic Opens Cup will be held at the University of Stirling from 12 to 15 August 2027, as confirmed by the Federation of International Touch. Volunteers for the tournament will be sought closer to the time.
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