Touch rugby
Unexpected moment in life
Have you ever had one of those moments where you are randomly struck by a golden opportunity completely out of nowhere? Yeah, I’ve definitely been there.
I still clearly remember just minding my own business back in Form 4, when suddenly my friend marched up to me and asked, “Weh Miera, kau nak join aku buat team rugby touch tak?” I just stared at her like… What?! Touch rugby?!
Just to give you some context. At my school, SBPI Rawang, we had never had a touch rugby team before. Not once. So when she casually asked me to join, I was genuinely shell-shocked. We were going to build an entire sports team… from absolute scratch?!
Well, she went on a total recruiting spree and gathered a bunch of us together. Honestly, it was so incredibly inspiring of her to take this massive project on. Back in her primary school days, she actually played touch rugby and made it all the way to the international level. So she wanted to bring that exact same magic and feasibility to our high school years, and suddenly, I found myself tagging along for this wild new ride.
how it went
Not gonna lie though, I wasn’t much of a sports player. I was more of a sprinter, the only things I’d really joined were the 100 meter sprint and a bit of inter class or inter house netball (lol). So, learning how to play touch rugby was completely unfamiliar territory. I basically had to rewire my body from sitting formally in debate rooms to actually running, dodging, and playing a high-speed team sport.
But we didn’t do it alone. My friend, who naturally became our captain, was incredibly passionate. Together, we managed to convince our teachers to find us a coach. And guess what? We actually got one! Anddd that is exactly how my touch rugby journey officially began.
However, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. There was a surprising number of girls who wanted to join the team. Because of the high demand, our new coach decided to hold a brutal two-week selection phase. During those two weeks, I had to give it my absolute all. I showed up early, focused during every single evening practice, and sacrificed half my weekends just to train.
The absolute hardest part of it all? The time management. The touch rugby tournament was scheduled exactly ONE WEEK before PPM (yes, the massive national debate competition). I couldn’t afford to slack off in either of them. I spent all my free time meticulously managing my schedule, squeezing productivity into every single slot.
My daily routine looked a little something like this:
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Grinding on the field for touch rugby training.
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Rushing straight to the debate room for speech training.
Nighttime: Logging back on to train and prep cases with my debate teammates.
Oh, and did I casually forget to mention that I was also appointed as the Vice-Captain for the touch rugby team? Yeah. Honestly, thank goodness I wasn’t the captain for that sport too—managing the debate club as Captain was already a massive buffet on my plate!
The fight!
We trained intensely for an absolute solid two months. But let’s be real, two months is definitely not enough time for a group of complete rookies to master a sport. None of us knew what we were doing at first because we were literally just a bunch of newbies trying to pioneer a brand new sport at our school.
But did that ruin our spirits? Not even close! Every single training session felt like a rewarding battle because I was learning something completely new every day. We even set up friendly matches with Integomb and other secondary schools around Rawang and Gombak just to get a feel for the real game.
Truth be told, training became my absolute favorite escape. Not only did I get to hang out and bond with my friends and juniors, but running around the field was the ultimate dopamine release. After being glued to a desk and studying from 7 AM all the way to 4 PM, moving my body felt like pure freedom!
The Reality Check on the Field
Then came the actual tournament day. Walking onto that field and facing off against elite schools like Semashur and SMSS, who are absolute legends in the touch rugby scene, literally sent shivers down my spine.
To tell you the truth, we lost a lot of matches. It was frustrating, of course. But deep down, I knew that as a rookie team, there was simply no way we could magically beat established teams with long lineages of alumni and highly experienced players. It was a little sad, but it was reality.
We managed to make it to the (almost) Quarter-Finals for the Saucer category (which, if we are being honest, is the lowest tier, haha…). But hey, getting even that far in our very first official tournament against other powerhouse schools was a huge win in my book honestly.
Passing the Ball (and the Legacy)
Those losses didn’t extinguish my love for touch rugby at all. In fact, it just made me want to join a team when I go to University later on. I couldn’t continue playing during my Form 5 year because I had to strictly prioritize my SPM and leading the debate team.
But surprise, surprise! My juniors took the foundation we built and went above and beyond. By the time I was in Form 5, they were actually out there winning matches! Seeing them succeed and thrive in something I fought so hard to start made my heart incredibly full.
My touch rugby era might not sound as ‘cool’ or triumphant as my debate stories, but I still wanted to share it. Why? Because it was honestly one of the most rewarding experiences I was lucky enough to be part of. At the end of the day, it was all about building a legacy and creating unforgettable memories with my friends before leaving school behind.
