The Touch Rugby World Cup 2024 gets under way in Nottingham on Monday – and there are plenty of players with links to the north-east who will be down there representing Scotland.
Held every four years, the world cup brings together teams from across the globe for a truly international carnival of high-quality sport.
Touch – an exciting and inclusive game played by teams of six players which promotes the fundamental rugby skills of running, passing, catching, evasion and support play – is growing all of the time.
This event at the University of Nottingham between today and Sunday will by far and away be the biggest world cup ever with around 190 teams representing 40-plus nations from every continent.
Scotland have squads in a number of categories.
Gemma Campbell, Rowan Chillingworth, Steph Coull, Steve Coxhill, Alastair Gossip, Kenny Morton and Simon Walker are all representing the region in the mixed 30s playing group.
Andy Gordon, David Leslie, Alasdair Mathieson and Steve Ormston are in the men’s 40s squad, with Senga Derrick, Alison Freshwater, Michele Hutchison, Elaine Irvine, Lynda Leslie and Monica Wallace in the women’s 40s squad.
Alan McDonald, Kenneth Black, Paul Black, Colin Goldsworthy, Neil Fraser and Iain Craik are in the men’s 50s squad.
Ali Crozier, a 53-year-old from Aberdeen, will captain that latter squad.
He said: “The excitement has been building up for the World Cup, I’m proud and always honoured to represent Scotland.
“Although I’ve played in six European championships and other internationals, this is only my second world cup, the first being in Edinburgh in 2011.
“Although I love playing, what keeps me coming back is the camaraderie of the squad. Especially as you get older, having a shared goal is an added incentive to keep yourself fit.
“Tournaments also give us a chance to catch up with friends from other countries that we’ve made over the years.
“I believe the squad is well prepared and we are lucky to have an excellent coach allowing us all to develop. The squad training has been ongoing from the Euros last year with the majority of us moving up an age category from men’s 45s.
“Some key players have had to drop out due to injury or other commitments, but we have experienced replacements coming into the team and some good players not making final selection this time.
“Our qualifying pool is strong with teams including New Zealand, Wales, Japan and USA in there, so the first goal is to get to the quarter-finals.”
Alford’s Sarah Mason to coach world cup’s referees
Sarah Mason, a 43-year-old who lives in Alford with her family, will not be playing in Nottingham, but has a very important role.
She said: “I’m a referee coach.
“I was an international referee from 2006 to 2014, but after having my second child, I moved into coaching the referees.
“It’s a massive honour to be one of only 12 referee coaches selected from around the world to support, guide and analyse the referees at the tournament. It’s is a lot of pressure, but thrilling at the same time.
“I also get a amazing opportunity to be closely involved in really high-level elite touch.
“The social aspect of the sport is a massive draw. Being a mixed team sport, the atmosphere and camaraderie is always really good.
“The sport itself is really fast and showcases some of the really thrilling aspects of other rugby codes, but without the contact risk.
“If people already like rugby union, I’d say touch is like sevens, but without the contact and it lasts a lot longer – you need to find space and work to outwit your opponent.
“Being a mixed team sport means that it’s pretty unique and the strategy of playing in that space is really exciting.”
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