Scotland’s top touch rugby players are travelling to France this week with their eyes set on achieving European glory.

The 2008 European Touch Championships kick off this week, with teams from 15 European nations battling it out for titles in five different divisions.

The Scottish Touch Association (STA) is sending six teams – almost 100 athletes, coaches and support staff – in the country’s biggest squad to ever go abroad to an international touch tournament.

The championships are the seventh touch Euros and start in Paris on Thursday July 10, with an opening ceremony and exhibition games in the evening. The competitive action starts on Friday morning and continues until the finals on Sunday afternoon.

Scotland is one of 15 European countries taking part in the tournament, which takes place every two years and will involve around 600 players. The six Scotland teams will compete in the Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Mixed Open, Men’s over 30 and Men’s over 35 divisions (Scotland’s Women’s over 30 team is competing in the Women’s Open division).

STA president Peter Faassen de Heer said:
“Scotland’s international touch players travel to France with high hopes of success. This week is the culmination of ten months of hard work for players, coaches, selectors and administrators, and we will arrive in Paris as the biggest and best prepared Scotland squad to go abroad to an international tournament yet.

“The strength and depth of the squad going to France reflect the growth of the sport in Scotland in terms of both player numbers and quality. Touch is well established in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and goes from strength to strength in those two cities, and is growing quickly in Dundee, Glasgow, Perth and Stirling. This is all positive as we build towards hosting the 2011 World Cup in Scotland.”