On Thursday, September 17, around ten BNP Paribas colleagues joined All France Rugby Club at Nishitoyama Park for an evening introduction to touch rugby.
The group brought together people of different ages and sporting backgrounds. Some had already played rugby before, while for others it was quite literally their first time picking up a rugby ball. That mix was exactly what made the session so much fun.
Coaches Phil and Antoine started with the basics: passing, handling, positioning and moving together as a team. Simple exercises quickly became more dynamic, with everyone getting plenty of touches on the ball and a chance to learn by playing.
As confidence grew, the session naturally moved into small games of touch rugby.
There were good passes, a few less successful ones, some unexpected bursts of speed and increasingly competitive moments as the evening went on. Mostly, though, there were plenty of laughs.
Touch rugby is a great introduction to the sport. Without tackles, it allows newcomers to discover many of the things that make rugby special — teamwork, communication, movement and the simple pleasure of keeping the ball alive — while remaining accessible whatever your previous experience.
For AFRC, evenings like this are also an opportunity to share rugby beyond our regular team and introduce new people to the atmosphere surrounding the club and to rugby in Tokyo.
A big thank you to everyone from BNP Paribas who joined us and embraced the experience with such good energy.
And a special thank you to Phil and Antoine for preparing and coaching the session.
We hope this was only the first of many passes — and that we’ll see some familiar faces back on the pitch soon.
