Credit: Rugby Club Luxembourg
Rugby Club Luxembourg (RCL) has announced that this weekend will mark their final training camp for their M30’s touch rugby team, before playing in the European Championship in Vichy, France.
The Touch Rugby European Championship will count over 1000 players, 400 match officials representing over 50 men, women and mixed teams, from fourteen countries, playing in age divisions from elite/open through to 50 plus over four days in August 2023.
Luxembourg is sending a “Men over 30’s” team in a division with teams from England, France, Wales, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden.
Luxembourg’s Kiwi coach Nick Matenga, said “Having trained earlier in the year with the French M30 and M40 teams at the French rugby HQ at Marcoussis, we already have a feel of what it is to play against world-class athletes in this age division.”
It is a challenge for a small nation such as Luxembourg to compete in such a major championship, RCL stressed. The touch rugby group expressed its gratitude for the support received from the Luxembourg government, and the country’s own players. Donald Venkatapen has agreed to support Touch Luxembourg on its various ventures for the next three years. Having represented Luxembourg at Rugby Union, Donald went on to represent Touch Luxembourg at the 2011 World Cup in Edinburgh. Since then, he has been a regular in the over 40’s team and within the RCL Touch Rugby Social league. Having experienced the age and gender inclusiveness of touch rugby, Donald expressed a keen interest in supporting the sport’s development at both a Senior and Junior level.
In case of interest in touch rugby, the group can be contacted at: luxembourgtouch@gmail.com. Alternatively, they have a dedicated Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LuxembourgTouch/.
