TOUCH ON VARIOUS SKILLS

In a special series, Play of the Month, The Sunday Times' sports desk will dive into a sport. Every month this year, an expert in a sport will provide tips on how to play and get better at it. The November spotlight is on touch rugby.

- Kimberly Kwek

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.