It’s easy to think of rugby as a game only played by big burly men who love getting muddy and wrestling each other to the ground. But a new craze in Abu Dhabi is dispelling those myths. Touch rugby is a minimal contact version of the sport and, thanks to the hard work of one man, is catching on in Abu Dhabi’s schools and clubs.
John Larkins is the president of UAE Touch. He moved to the city from his native New Zealand two years ago and since then he’s taken the sport into more than 20 schools in Abu Dhabi and holds various classes and competitions for adults as well. His network is now spreading into Dubai and Sharjah.
‘I played touch rugby for around 20 years and also played at international level,’ says John. ‘When my wife got offered a job here I came over to be a father of leisure because I’ve got a building company back home. My daughter went to Brighton College and the PE director of sport said they only play football, so I introduced them to touch rugby.’
It didn’t take long for John to find plenty of other schools were interested in adding it to their curriculums. ‘He gave me an opportunity to go into classes,’ says John. ‘I started teaching for free and did that for six months.
He in turn told a few PE teachers, they asked me along and we now do 11 classes in the PE curriculum and also hold plenty of after-school classes.
We then sat down with 20 schools and they asked if we could run some competitions for them. We now do under-nines, under-11s and secondary school classes for boys and girls.’
The difference between rugby and touch is the contact, or lack of it. ‘It’s similar to rugby sevens. There are six people on the field, the field is 70 metres by 50 metres wide, so you have a huge amount of space and the main skills are passing and catching,’ he says. ‘Everyone in New Zealand who plays rugby starts by playing touch. It’s where you learn how to catch and pass.’
As well as making his mark at the city’s schools, John is now holding regular competitions for adults as well. ‘We run a competition, which is more of a coaching competition, on a Saturday and we put people into specific teams,’ adds John. ‘We place people, so you can have someone brand new at the game in a team playing with experienced players. We rotate the squad. We provide the kit and the coaching, you just need to turn up with a smile and a little bit of water.’
The good news is you don’t have to be particularly fit, or passionate about the sport, to take part. ‘Anyone at any level can play. We’ve got people who have not done sport for a very long time. But if you can pass and catch, then you can be a part of a team. You don’t have to be a premium athlete to over achieve,’ he says. ‘In New Zealand we had two people who played with only one arm. Depending on your skill set, you can still be part of a team.
I combine people with different skills. As long as they work as a team, they can still achieve.’
John has been overwhelmed by the amount of help from organisations in the city. ‘Saracens Rugby Club in Abu Dhabi have been amazing. They gave me three of their coaches to help in schools for free,’ he smiles. ‘They donated 24 balls to us. I spent two months training their coaches to play touch rugby.’
The sport has become so popular it’s now a full-time unpaid job for John. ‘Our youngest groups are three to four years old and we’ve run groups for over 35s. At schools, we’re coaching 80 to 100 kids a day. I now do it full-time.
The only thing holding us back is the lack of facilities, we’re always on the look out for new places.’
He’s also planning a tournament between the emirates. ‘We’re in Sharjah and Dubai. We’re organising a competition at the Dubai Sevens stadium for March and we’re doing some training sessions in Sharjah as well. We want Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah to compete in an inter-emirate competition.’
Head to www.facebook.com/UaeTouch or www.uaetouch.ae for more info.
