The game
What is touch?
Touch rugby — most people just say touch — is a running, passing game played with an oval ball. It is non-contact, mixed, and played six-a-side.
A touch, not a tackle
In rugby union, a defender tackles the ball carrier to the ground. In touch, a defender touches the ball carrier with minimal force. That touch stops the run. There is no scrum, no lineout and no kicking battle.
Passes travel backwards, as in other rugby codes. After a touch, the ball carrier plays the ball to a teammate and the attack goes again. In the standard game a team has six touches, then the ball turns over. You score by grounding the ball on the try-line.
Who plays
Touch is played by women and men, together and in single-gender games, in clubs and at tournaments in a lot of countries. You do not need a rugby background. Plenty of people start because a friend dragged them along.
Hamburg training is mixed. Sessions are coached and explained in English and in German, so you can join in either language.
What you don't need
No experience. No club membership before your first visit. No special kit — sports clothes, trainers or boots without metal studs, and a water bottle are enough.
It is a proper workout and it is social. People stay for the game, and quite often for a drink afterwards. The international calendar is busy, which is why a Tuesday-night conversation on the sideline can involve three accents and a plan to be in another city next month.