Credit: Touch Luxembourg

The touch rugby association Touch Luxembourg has announced that the South East Touch Association (SETA) from England will join the Terres Rouges Touch Rugby tournament at the Stade JF Kennedy in Dudelange on Saturday 15 June 2024; this will be the first-ever international Touch rugby tournament in Luxembourg.

SETA is one of England’s top touch associations, with their regional teams winning four Gold, three Silver and four Bronze medals at the recent 2024 England Touch Rugby National championships in May, held in Nottingham. 

The question may thus arise as to why they are coming to Luxembourg’s new Touch Rugby Club, which is only nine months old.

Erik Černe, Joint Regional Lead at SETA, said: “Coming to Luxembourg is a great opportunity for our players and coaches from the SETA Region to understand the role they play in the wider Touch community in Europe, especially as many prepare for the Touch World Cup in July. In particular, by bringing some of the best regional and international Men’s and Women’s players from the UK, we hope to show how Touch is a truly inclusive sport and inspire the 30-odd junior girls who play for Luxembourg clubs, as well as those associated with their schools' programme, to continue their sporting journey.”

In addition, the SETA mixed open team will take on Luxembourg’s national Men’s 30’s team in an exhibition game over lunch. This will be the marquee match of this touch rugby festival. Nick Frank, president of Touch Luxembourg commented: “we are looking forward to taking on some of the best in England as part of our preparation for July’s World Cup.”

Nick added: “By playing a mixed team, we hope to break many myths about men and women in rugby and demonstrate to Luxembourg, that Touch [rugby] is a highly inclusive sport that will increase our playing base and achieve our vision to be the most widely played Mixed Team sport in Luxembourg.”

However, the most important people in this Tournament are the newly formed Terres Rouges Touch Rugby Club, who have developed a family sporting environment in the south of Luxembourg, the association noted. This is not an area with a rugby background, which is why their goal is to use this event to promote touch rugby in their local area. With the backing of a local entrepreneur, EYQUEM, they hope this inaugural tournament will become an established part of the touch rugby calendar. 

As their President, Christophe Ostolani, said: “It is incredible that such a high-level team such as SETA gives us their time and knowledge to help us develop a real community club where men and women, boys and girls can play together a truly inclusive sport.”

Eindhoven Touch, Trier Touch, the RCL Touch Lightning Mixed team and RCL’s juniors as well as the home side will be present at the Dudelange Touch festival. The exhibition game will be around noon and the finals and Women’s invitation game, around 16:00.

For more information, contact the Terres Rouges Touch Rugby Club at terresrougesrugbytouch@outlook.com.