Just before the summer block began, 45 young people from eight of our TackleLondon provision schools came together at Croydon RFC for an evening of touch rugby, competition and, importantly, meeting people they might never otherwise have shared a pitch with.
The format was deliberately different from a typical school tournament. Rather than keeping players with the classmates and teammates they already knew, everyone was mixed across schools to create new teams. For some players, it was their first time playing alongside the people in their team, turning the evening into an opportunity not just to compete, but to make new connections.
Across the evening, the teams battled it out in a series of touch matches, with plenty of competitiveness, encouragement and energy on the pitch. The teams were given Matt Ratana-inspired names, using alliterated M and R nicknames as a way of continuing Matt’s legacy and honouring his memory.
After a fantastic evening of rugby, Matt’s Mustangs took the tournament title. 👏🏆
We also celebrated three standout players, with Logan, Yohan and Harrison named Players of the Tournament for their performances and contributions throughout the evening.
And, naturally, no tournament would be complete without food afterwards. The evening finished with a BBQ, giving players and coaches a chance to relax, eat together and spend time with people they’d only met a few hours earlier. Special credit goes to JC for taking on the grill — and taking full responsibility for the results. 🍔☀️
A huge thank you to Croydon RFC for continuing to support TackleLondon and making the evening possible through access to their pitches and facilities.
Why mix the teams?
The mixed-team format wasn’t simply a way to make the tournament more interesting. It reflects something fundamental to how we think about the role of rugby.
There is growing evidence around the importance of social capital; essentially, the opportunities and benefits that come from having relationships and connections with people beyond our immediate circles.
A major UK study by the Behavioural Insights Team, drawing on data from more than six billion friendships, found that greater mixing between social groups is associated with improved economic opportunity later in life. The research also found links between more socially diverse friendship networks and higher levels of happiness, life satisfaction and trust.
But those connections don’t happen automatically. The research suggests that schools are one of the most important places where young people can build relationships beyond the circles they would naturally gravitate towards — when the right opportunities to do so are created.
That’s where evenings like this come in.
For the 45 young people at Croydon RFC, the tournament created a simple reason to step outside their usual networks. They had to communicate with new teammates, work together, compete alongside people from different schools and spend time together away from the pitch afterwards.
None of that required a lecture about building social connections. They just played rugby together.
A follow-up analysis from the Economics Observatory points to exactly this kind of intervention as a practical way of creating more opportunities for young people to form connections across social and geographical lines, giving the example of “a youth programme that mixes teenagers from different schools.”
That’s what we want these evenings to do.
Rugby gives young people a reason to come together. The tournament gives them a shared challenge. And the time around the game – travelling, warming up, competing, eating and talking afterwards – gives those new relationships a chance to develop.
For us, that’s part of the wider purpose of TackleLondon: not simply giving young people access to rugby, but using the game to create safe, structured opportunities to build confidence, relationships and a sense of belonging.
And sometimes, it starts with being put on a team with someone you’ve never met before.
What’s next?
The next TackleLondon after-schools touch tournament takes place on 8 September, with the same mixed-team format, and yes, the BBQ will be back. 🏉☀️🍔
Sources: Behavioural Insights Team, “Social Capital in the United Kingdom: Evidence from Six Billion Friendships” (2025); Economics Observatory, “Can friendships help to explain inequality of opportunity across the UK?”