SINGAPORE – Jeslyn Lim’s start in touch rugby was unexpected. In 1997, she was training to be a teacher at the National Institute of Education when she was introduced to the sport, a variant of rugby league.
A local club was training at the Ministry of Education’s Co-Curricular Activities Branch (CCAB) and a member approached Lim and her friend, asking if they wanted to try out a new sport.
After her first try, Lim was hooked and has not stopped since.
On the appeal of touch, the 49-year-old said: “I like the intensity of the game, I like that it’s fast. Then there’s the camaraderie that you build with your teammates.
“It’s not just a physical game that tests your physical capabilities, but it’s also a mind game because you always have to think about how to beat your opponents.”
Touch started in Australia in the early 1960s as a social or “park” game, and as a training technique for rugby league.
Over the years, the sport has grown internationally and it is played in over 80 countries now.
In touch, the tackling of opposing players seen in contact rugby is replaced by a touch or contact made between a player in possession and a defending player.
It is played over two 20-minute halves between teams of six.
Each side has six touches to score a try, which earns a team one point. After six touches with no score, there is a changeover in possession.
Lim noted that the sport has evolved, with teams fielding seven players each when she first started.
She has taken part in five Touch World Cups since 1999 and won two bronze medals.
The teacher has also represented Singapore in contact rugby and was part of the team who clinched the rugby sevens silver at the 2015 SEA Games on home soil.
Throughout her playing career, Lim has also sought to promote the sport by serving on local governing body Touch Singapore’s executive committee and coaching.
In 2000, she started a touch team for girls in Bedok South Secondary School where she was teaching. She now works and coaches at the International French School.
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