Manchester · Stockport · Est. 2020
Touch rugby in Manchester
No tackling, no trials, no rugby background required. Come down to Hough End on a Monday, meet a load of people from across Manchester and Stockport, and play as socially or as seriously as you like.
- Mondays, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- Hough End Leisure Centre
- First session free
- Beginners and experienced players
Why touch rugby
The most fun you can have running around on a Monday
Touch rugby is rugby with the risk taken out: quick, tactical, low-impact and genuinely easy to start. It is the reason people who have never played a team sport in their lives end up here every week.
Nobody tackles you
Touch rugby swaps tackling for a two-handed touch. No scrums, no big hits, nothing to be nervous about. Just running, passing and space.
It is properly good exercise
Two hours of jogging, sprinting and changing direction that does not feel like training. Most people lose track of the effort somewhere in the first game.
You can learn it in one night
There are about five rules that matter. We explain them before you start, and the rest you pick up while you play.
Men and women, same pitch
Mixed touch is the standard format and it is how most of our Mondays run. We also field separate women’s and men’s squads at tournaments.
The social bit is the point
There is a pub after, a group chat that never sleeps, tournament weekends around the UK and a steady stream of socials. Plenty of people join to meet people.
As competitive as you want
Turn up on a Monday and never enter a tournament, and that is completely fine. Or push for a squad place and play nationally. Both count.
Never played before? Here is exactly what happens at your first session.
Sessions
Monday nights at Hough End
One session, every week, all year. Here is everything you need to know before you turn up.
- When
Every Monday, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Turn up by 5:50pm. Year round, floodlit through winter.
- Where
Hough End Leisure Centre
480 Princess Road, Manchester M20 1HD. Free parking on site.
- Cost
First session free
After that, pay as you play or take a membership. Ask and we will tell you exactly what it costs.
- Who it is for
Any ability, any gender
Adults 18+ (get in touch about younger players)
Bring
- Trainers, or boots if it has been wet
- A water bottle
- Shorts and a t-shirt, whatever you train in
- Layers for winter Mondays
We provide
- Bibs
- Balls
- Cones and kit
- First aid kit
- Someone to show you the ropes
New players
“I have never played touch rugby before. Can I still come?”
Yes. That is the single most common message we get, and the answer has never once been no.
- Do I need to know anyone?
- No. Most people arrive on their own. Find whoever is holding the bag of balls, say it is your first time, and you will be in a team within a couple of minutes.
- Do I need rugby experience?
- None. A large share of our members had never held a rugby ball before their first Monday, and several of them now play at tournaments.
- What actually happens?
- A warm-up, some skills, then games. You will be shown the rules before anything starts and someone will keep an eye on you during your first few games.
- What do I wear?
- Whatever you would go running in. Trainers are fine when it is dry, boots are better when it is not. We provide the bibs.
- How fit do I need to be?
- Fit enough to jog. You rotate on and off constantly, so you set your own pace, and it is a much better way to get fitter than the treadmill.
- What does it cost?
- Your first session is free. If you come back we will explain the pay-as-you-play and membership options before you commit to anything.
Who plays
Women's, men's and mixed: all of it here
We are not a men's club that lets women join. Mixed touch is our default format, the women's squad has its own tournament calendar, and beginners sit alongside internationals at the same session.
Women's squad
A squad that has taken complete beginners to national tournaments, and keeps the same welcome for whoever turns up next.
Read more
Men's squad
Quick, competitive and good fun, with tournaments around the UK and Monday nights open to anyone who fancies it.
Read more
Mixed squad
Men and women on the same pitch, same team. The heart of what we do and the easiest place to start.
Read more
Where we play
South Manchester, easy reach of Stockport
We train at Hough End Leisure Centre on 480 Princess Road. Floodlit grass pitches with free parking, ten minutes from Chorlton, Withington and Didsbury and a straight run across from the Stockport side.
Players travel in from
Chorlton · Withington · Didsbury · Whalley Range · Fallowfield · Levenshulme · Hulme · City centre · Sale · Stretford
And from the Stockport side
Heaton Chapel · Heaton Moor · Cheadle · Cheadle Hulme · Burnage · Reddish · Bramhall
The club
Four years, fifty-odd players, one very busy group chat
We started in 2020 with a daft plan to enter every touch tournament we could find. Some of that group have since pulled on international shirts, and Monday nights are still open to anyone who fancies a run around.
- Founded
2020
Founded
A pub idea that turned into a proper club.
- Members
50+
Members
And a group chat that never stops.
- Squads
3
Squads
Women's, men's and mixed.
- Touch World Cup
2024
Touch World Cup
Foxes represented England, Malaysia and Scotland in Nottingham.
See what a Monday actually looks like
Match clips, tournament weekends, post-session pints and a fair amount of nonsense. It is all on Instagram, and it is the quickest way to work out whether we are your sort of people.
Follow @manchesterfoxes
Questions
The things people ask before they come
What is touch rugby?
Touch rugby is rugby with the tackling taken out. Instead of being tackled you're stopped by a two-handed touch, so it's fast, low-impact and much easier to pick up than the contact game. Six players a side, lots of running, lots of passing, and nobody ends up in a heap on the floor.
Is touch rugby suitable for beginners?
Yes. Most people who come to us have never played before. There are only a handful of rules, someone walks you through them before you start, and you learn the rest by playing. You will not be the only new person on the pitch.
Do I need rugby experience?
None at all. Plenty of our members had never touched a rugby ball before their first Monday. If you can jog and catch, you can play, and if you can do neither yet, that is what the first few weeks are for.
Can women play touch rugby?
Absolutely, and lots do. We run a women's squad alongside our mixed sessions, and Monday nights are always a mix of men and women training together. Women's touch is one of the fastest-growing parts of the sport in the UK.
Is touch rugby mixed?
Ours is. Mixed touch, men and women in the same team, is a proper format with its own tournaments, and it is how most of our Monday sessions run. We also enter open and women's competitions.
Where can I play touch rugby in Manchester?
We train every Monday at Hough End Leisure Centre on 480 Princess Road in south Manchester, 6:00pm – 8:00pm. It's a ten-minute drive from Chorlton, Withington or Didsbury, there is free parking, and there are floodlit grass pitches so the sessions run through winter.
Ready to give touch rugby a try?
Message us, tell us you fancy a go, and turn up on Monday. First session is free and you will not be the only new face there.