Thursday nights at the Kreuzbleiche
Touch Rugby in St. Gallen
Mixed, no-contact rugby on a public pitch in the middle of town, followed by beers with whoever stays. No club, no fees, no experience needed.
Rugby without the tackling
Touch rugby is rugby with the collisions taken out. If you have the ball and an opponent touches you, you stop, put the ball on the ground, a team-mate picks it up and play carries on.
You pass backwards, you never kick, and you score by grounding the ball over the opposition line. Teams are mixed: women and men, all ages, whoever turns up that week.
We use simplified house rules and explain them on the pitch. If you have never held a rugby ball, that is fine — most of us had not either.
When we play
Thursday nights
We meet at the Kreuzbleiche on Thursday evenings. Kick-off is between 18:00 and 18:30 and we play until around 20:00. We need at least ten people for a proper game, so there is a poll in the WhatsApp group every week. If the numbers are there, we play.
All year round
We play through the whole year, snow included. The only thing that really stops us in winter is daylight: for a couple of months we swap Thursday rugby for a run, or move the game to a Sunday afternoon when there is enough interest.
Where we play
The Kreuzbleiche, right next to the Militärkantine. It is a public field a few minutes from the station and the old town. Look for the group in shorts arguing about whether that was a touch.
Coordinates: 47.4206392, 9.3600015
What it costs
Nothing. There is no membership, no fee and no committee. We are not a registered club and we have no plans to become one.
The only thing we ask is that you turn up with some regularity: for the rugby, for the beers afterwards, ideally for both. People who disappear for months get taken out of the WhatsApp group to keep it usable, and they are welcome back whenever they reappear.
We are a group of private individuals, not an official club. You take part at your own risk and under your own insurance, and we accept no liability for injuries, damage or theft.
Sometimes I come for the exercise, sometimes I come for beer, but I always come for the good company.
One of the regulars
An evening with us
Touch rugby in St. Gallen – at a glance
An open group that has been playing touch rugby on the Kreuzbleiche, next to the Militärkantine, since 2009. Rugby without tackling, mixed teams, women and men, all ages.
Thursday evenings, kick-off between 18:00 and 18:30, finishing around 20:00 – all year round, snow included. We need at least ten people, and the weekly poll runs in the WhatsApp group.
It costs nothing, there is no membership and nobody needs previous experience. To join: fill in the form and we will add you to the WhatsApp group.
We are not a registered club. You take part at your own risk and under your own insurance, and we accept no liability for injuries, damage or theft.
Come and play
Send us your details and we will add you to the WhatsApp group. Then turn up on a Thursday with shorts, a T-shirt and, if you have them, moulded studs.