Raccoons Rugby Roma go from being ‘urban strangers’ to IGR Global Touch Cup champions
The first-ever IGR Touch Rugby Festival was held in Leeds in late May, with 16 teams competing; the winners of the Global Touch Cup were Raccoons Rugby Roma, a club that only started up two years ago; here, IGR’s Mark Lewis helps to explain the back story to the Italians’ success, and why their victory means so much…
By Mark Lewis, IGR, and Raccoons Rugby Roma
A couple of years back, a group in Rome felt the need to create something new.
The inclusive rugby community was changing, and they saw a gap: a team that could be genuinely welcoming, and push towards a more ambitious game.
Not a social club with rugby balls, but a real rugby club with a soul. That idea turned into Raccoons Rugby Roma.
The founders expressly wanted a space where anyone who had experienced any form of discrimination and exclusion could walk onto the pitch without judgment, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or how they look.
However, they also sought structure: coaches, organisation, and a desire to compete nationally and internationally.
They reacted quickly. That first training session saw attendance of 30 people.
Now, with almost 90 registered members and two teams (XV and touch), plus a trophy, today feels like a dream.
The path was quite difficult. Rugby isn’t traditional in central Italy and has few facilities. The club hires a pitch all year round, but the changing rooms need attention, there is no clubhouse, and a space that can be the ‘heart of club life’ is still being sought.
The money the Raccoons get comes from members paying fees, fundraising, and a few sponsors. The board notes that the club is always on the lookout for a true home for the Raccoons. Don’t worry, it will be found sooner or later.
However, it was a community that was created first. This year already, over 50 new people have tried rugby with the Raccoons. Some remained, some departed, but all participants soon realised that rugby can be achievable and friendlier than they thought.
Nonetheless, the real magic happened many miles away, at the inaugural IGR Touch Rugby Festival in Leeds in late May, 2026.
“We haven’t gone anywhere like Leeds, not expecting something like this,” recalls club president Umberto Cesaro.
The Raccoons were feeling like underdogs: a young club of less than two years taking part in its first proper international IGR touch rugby competition.
But match after match, the team grew in belief. In the end, the Raccoons were raising the inaugural IGR Global Touch Cup. It truly felt like something you see in one of those underdog grassroots sports movies.
For the players, the victory grew from moments that had already changed them.
One said that being in Madrid 2025 was not about winning tournaments, but about laughing – Raccoons on a sugar rush, and a bunch of “ex-punks” that became a team.
Another recalled a cold evening in February when the touch team was born, between Roman aqueducts and railway tracks. Vulnerability was met with warm embraces that give new meaning to the jersey.
The trophy lifted the club at a difficult moment in its season. According to Umberto, it brought back memories of why they do all of this and the fact there’s still so much potential to build.
But in Leeds, the players experienced something different that day, and that’s the power of the inclusive rugby community.
Having played a match against each other on the Saturday morning, Reading Renegades RFC became part of the Raccoons family by Sunday, when they were cheering the Italians in the final like they were one of their own.
A player recalls: “They were right there with us.”
One rugby game cannot explain the wonderful day that the jamboree was, and the incredible connections made.
When someone talks about winning together, they mean that you recognise your own strengths and limits. In addition, you’re able to mesh it with your teammates. You just need to be open to giving as well as receiving. It’s a huge lesson in life.
The Raccoons are aware of their new responsibilities. They want to defend their title, grow both teams, and show Italy that inclusive sport is not the opposite of competitive sport. Instead, they make each other stronger.
According to the board’s statement, if this victory gives one more person the courage to step onto a pitch, it would mean something bigger.
The historical arc of the Raccoons Rugby Roma story spans from a group of strangers in a rough Roman park to champion rugby players on the world stage. But one thing is sure: they found their place in this tale.
And they are just warming up.
Thanks to Mark and the Raccoons, and congratulations! You can find out more about IGR and inclusive rugby on the organisation’s website and social channels.
Further reading…
International Gay Rugby chair: Sport faces defining moment on inclusion (Outsports, April 2026)
Colchester Kings rugby team wins division ahead of at-home Finals Day (Colchester Gazette, April 2026)
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