Tag rugby, flag rugby league or flag rugby, is a non-contact team game in which each player wears a belt that has two velcro tags attached to it, or shorts with velcro patches. The mode of play is based on rugby league with many similarities to touch football. Attacking players attempt to dodge, evade and pass a rugby ball while defenders attempt to prevent them scoring by "tagging" – pulling a velcro attached tag from the ball carrier, rather than a full contact tackle. Tag rugby is used in development and training by the rugby league community, but it is also used by the rugby union community as a development game / training alternative.

Tag rugby comes in several forms with OzTag and Mini Tag being some of the better known variations. Tag rugby has the highest participation levels in Ireland and Australia.

Tag rugby variants[link]

OzTag[link]

OzTag is a non-contact form of rugby league. The sport Tag originated from the United Kingdom created and developed by Nick Leonard. OzTag is a variation of that sport. St George Dragons halfback Perry Haddock, introduced the sport in Australia while coaching the 1992 St George Jersey Flegg side. Together with Chris Parkes, the two took the sport to fields across Australia. Today, it is played by over 100,000 players in organised leagues across the country.

Games are usually played over 20 minutes a half. The normal dimensions of the field are 70 metres x 50 metres. Eight players in each team are allowed on the field at a time.

The attacking team has six plays or tags to try and score a try or take the ball down field as close to the line as possible. Like most versions of tag rugby, a tackle is made when one of two velcro stripes, known as tags, is removed from the ball carrier's shorts.

Players can pass and kick the ball and tries are worth one point and there are no conversions. Kicking in general play is allowed but it must: be below shoulder height of the referee and on zero count with no play-the-ball (from playing a knock-on advantage for instance) or after the 4th tag.

Mini Tag[link]

Like all forms of Tag Rugby Mini Tag is historically based on rugby league, but under-7s Mini Tag has some rugby union features, like an unlimited tackle count. It does not have an equivalent of the six tags law and instead tackled players must off-load the ball. Under-8s Mini Tag on the other hand, retains a six tag law (RFU Continuum 3.5.g) which requires that on the 7th tag the referee will stop the game and give the ball to the other side. The restart is with a free pass.

Mini Tag is currently the only form of rugby permitted by the English RFU for under-8 and under-7 age groups. Mini Tag requires the use of a size 3 rugby ball and does not allow scrums, line-outs or kicking.

Tag rugby worldwide[link]

Australia[link]

Since its beginnings in 1992, OzTag (or Walla Tag) has grown in popularity across Australia in urban and rural areas. Twenty-eight teams participated in the first season in summer 1992–1993 playing in the Cronulla and St George areas of Sydney. Today, more than 80,000 players take part in OzTag competitions nationally.

There are Oztag competitions running all over Australia, with the largest areas located in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. Competing teams are in six divisions: women's open, mixed, men's open and men's over-30s, 35s, and 40s.

England[link]

Tag rugby was created and pioneered by physical education teacher Nick Leonard in England in 1990 following an idea given to by a former service man called Barry Johns. He described to Nick how navy servicemen on board ship or whilst playing on hard grounds overseas used the removal by defenders of bits of cord tucked down players shorts to simulate a tackle in rugby. Nick Leonard then devised a set of rules suitable for children using belts and coloured ribbons attached by Velcro and organised the first ever schools Tag Rugby festival at UCP Marjons, Plymouth in 1991. This annual event celebrated its 20th festival in 2011.

In 2003–04, the RFU introduced Mini Tag into its junior development program called The Three Stages of the Rugby Continuum, replacing touch rugby.

Tag rugby also developed via IMBRL (Inter Message Board Rugby League) where message boards representing clubs took part in tournaments and friendly matches. Some developed into full-contact teams, others became tag teams and others folded. In 2008, a Tag Merit League was established based on the RL Merit League format. The league was developed with the intention to encourage new clubs outside the older IMBRL circuit to play tag rugby league. The Merit League operates on normal rugby league laws with tags taking the place of tackles.

In 2009 London based Try Tag Rugby began running adult tag rugby competitions throughout the capital. By the summer of 2011, over 1,000 players were regularly taking part in week night evening leagues across London at locations such as Finsbury Park, Gladstone Park, Wandsworth Town, Tooting Bec, Richmond, Hoxton, Highbury and Southwark Park. A charity tag rugby festival in conjunction with GOAL called the GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships took place in August 2010 and 2011. The third annual GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships is planned for August 18th, 2012, with over 30 teams from throughout the UK and Ireland expected to attend.

Try Tag Rugby are the UK's official delegates of the Oz Tag Football Federation, whose members include OzTag Australia and NZ Tag Football. Try Tag Rugby hosted Oztag Australia in July 2011 when the Australians visited London for two separate three match series. The Australians took on the London Residents at mixed, men's and men's over 30s level on July 16, winning each match comfortably. On July 17, OzTag took on Try Tag Rugby's England mixed team and Try Tag Rugby's Great Britain & Ireland men's and men's over 30s teams, again winning each 3 game series comfortably. Try Tag Rugby play their London competitions under OzTag rules.

International Tag Rugby League Festivals[link]

After the huge success of the inaugural Rochdale Swarm International Mixed Tag Rugby League Festivals, the event returns for its third year on 28 May 2011 for what promises to be an even bigger event.

In 2009 and 2010 Teams from France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales entered alongside a Teams drawn from Rochdale Fijians and the local Asian Community, plus Kiwi and Aussie exiles. This was complemented by teams from all across England. The Festival was a non-contact, mixed gender 7-a-side competition, where at least 2 of the 7 are from the opposite sex.

With an unprecedented demand for places it is the biggest ever adult Tag Rugby League Festival held in the UK.^[1]

The Pig 'n' Porter Tag Rugby festival, the largest in the world, is held each July on the grounds of Old Crescent Rugby Club, Limerick, Ireland. Over 120 teams take part in the weekend event. The popularity of the event can also be attributed to the aprés tag festivities which include a hog roast and live music.

The Malta International Tag Rugby Festival was launched in 2011 with seven teams competing in the inaugural edition from England, Scotland, France and the Maltese islands of Malta and Gozo. The festival is expected to make its mark as the hottest tag rugby festival in Europe with its next event in the 2012 summer. London's Try Tag Rugby All-Stars won the 2011 edition, Montpellier finished second. The festival is opened with a pub crawl through the historic three cities and completed with a Boat Party at the famous Blue Lagoon.

Ireland[link]

The Irish Tag Rugby Association (ITRA) introduced adult tag rugby to Ireland in 2000 in association with the Irish Rugby Football Union when the first ever league was run for 36 teams. Their league is known as Volvic Tag [1]. The Irish Rugby Football Union [2] began to run its own tag rugby leagues in 2007 following a split with ITRA.

The sport has become particularly popular in Ireland and in 2007, over 28,000 players in the two programmes making up more than 1,700 teams took part in tag rugby at 50 venues all over the country. This increased in 2008 and 2009.

There are four major types of tag rugby played there. They include men-only leagues, women-only leagues, mixed leagues (in which a minimum of three players must be female), and vets league (over-35s). Each type is usually played in four different ability categories ranging from A league (the most competitive) through B, C, and beginners league (the most inexperienced and usually the least competitive). Veterans leagues comprise of teams of players all over 35 yrs old.

Many companies pay for or sponsor company teams as a method of recreation hence this format of rugby's popularity and its non-contact nature makes it playable for mixed sex and age teams and inter-office competitions.

The Pig 'n' Porter Festival is held each July in Old Crescent RFC, Limerick. It is the largest single Tag Rugby tournament in the world with up to 150 tag teams taking part each year for the top prize. The tournament regularly attracts teams from England Scotland France and Holland.

New Zealand[link]

In 2003 the New Zealand Rugby Union established "Rippa rugby" – a variant of tag rugby – as a developmental game for young children, and for primary school tournaments.^[2]

KIWITAG is the original administration of Tag Rugby in New Zealand.^{[citation needed]}

• 1993–98 The game is played in pockets throughout the country – however no governance structure, common goals or standard rules in place
• 2005–2007 Auckland Kiwitag Inc. established and recognised by the majority of the sports participants as the interim governing body of Tag Rugby throughout New Zealand.
• 2008–2009 – New committee and chairman elected. Thus ensuring that the original established administration continues to govern the sport of Tag Rugby.

USA[link]

OzTag is known as flag rugby league or flag rugby in the United States. The American version of the rules is known as Eagletag.

See also[link]

• Touch football – also known as Touch Rugby
• Flag football – the equivalent spinoff from American football.

External links[link]

Australia[link]

• Oztag Australia
• The Oztag website
• The unofficial Oztag website
• Oztagsa – South Australian Oztag Association

England[link]

• Try Tag Rugby
• RFU pdf Mini Tag
• Tag Rugby UK
• Rochdale Swarm Tag Rugby League Club
• Rochdale International Mixed Tag Rugby League Festival

France[link]

• Sophia Rugby – 1st French Tag Rugby Association

Ireland[link]

• NRGtag – Irish Tag Rugby League
• Irish Tag Rugby Association
• Irish Rugby Football Union
• Astro Tag Rugby
• Angels Tag Rugby – A Dublin-based Tag Rugby Club
• Pig 'n' Porter – Largest Tag Rugby Event in the World – Hosted every summer in Old Crescent RFC, Limerick.
• Bruff RFC – Limerick based club hosting Tag Rugby Events

United States[link]

• “American Flag Rugby”

Footnotes[link]

1. ^ http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/rochdaleswarmtagrugbyleagueclub/
2. ^ Small Blacks Rippa rugby

Look up tag in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Tag or tagging may refer to:

Identification[link]

• Pet tag, an ID tag worn by pets
• Ear tag, an ID tag worn by farm farmers
• Dog tag (military), an ID tag worn by military personnel
• A form of graffiti signature
• A vehicle registration plate
• A QR code is a mobile phone tag.

Computing[link]

• Tag (metadata), an index term assigned to a piece of information
• Tag URI, a unique identifier protocol used in internet technologies
• Tag (programming), a method for passing parameters to subroutines
• TAG (BBS), a bulletin board software program
• HTML tag, a component of the HTML programming language
• Knowledge tag, a type of meta-information that captures knowledge about an information resource
• Revision tag, a label for a specific revision of a project
• Tag system, a deterministic computational model
• Using a tag editor to edit the metadata of multimedia content
• The entries in tag files generated by ctags, indexes to identifiers in source code

Language and education[link]

• Tag (LeapFrog), an interactive reading device
• Part-of-speech tagging, the process of marking up words as corresponding to a particular part of speech
• Tag question, a grammatical structure that converts a statement to a question
• Talented and Gifted program, a type of educational curriculum
  • School for the Talented & Gifted, Dallas, Texas
• Tree-adjoining grammar, a grammar framework

Sport[link]

• Tag (game), a playground game
• Tag out, a play in baseball
• Tag team, a type of wrestling

Media[link]

• Tag (advertisement), a Nike sportswear commercial
• Tag (barbershop music)
• Tag (comics), a Marvel character
• Tag: The Power of Paint, a computer game
• Tag Entertainment, a film production company
• TAG Recordings, a record label
• TAG Theatre Company, the longest established touring theatre company in Scotland
• "Tagged" (The Penguins of Madagascar episode)
• The Andy Griffith Show, a TV series
• Post-credits scene, a clip appearing at the end of some media
• Tag, the main character of "ModNation Racers".

Natural science[link]

• Protein tag, a biochemistry method
• Skin tag, a small benign tumour
• Theoretical and Applied Genetics, a scientific journal
• Trans Austria Gas Pipeline
• Triglyceride, a chemical compound
• Tumor-associated glycoprotein, a type of protein

Government/political organizations[link]

• Tactical Assault Group, an Australian counter-terrorism unit
• Tamils Against Genocide, a peace organization
• Treatment Action Group, an HIV/AIDS activist organization
• The German word for "day", found in the names of some German legislative bodies (such as Landtag), translating to English as Diet

Logistics[link]

• Kimball tag, formerly used to identify products to a stock control system
• RFID tag, current stock control technology
• A label used in electronic article surveillance to prevent shoplifting

Other uses[link]

• TAG Body Spray
• TAG Group, a Luxembourgian private holding company
• Electronic tagging, a form of non-surreptitious surveillance using a device attached to a person or vehicle
• Triage tag, a tool used to classify victims of mass casualty incidents
• Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization, an international holding company
• Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway
• The Theatre Arts Guild, a community theatre
• Timneh African Grey, a parrot
• Topological abelian group, a concept in mathematics
• Transcendental argument for the existence of God
• Transparent Armor Gun Shield, an armor system
• Transportes Aéreos Guatemaltecos, a Guatemalan airline

See also[link]

• Tagger (disambiguation)
• Tagged, a social networking site
• Tagline, a form of advertising slogan

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Rugby may refer to:

Look up rugby in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Rugby (automobile), made by Durant Motors
• Rugby Ralph Lauren, a brand from Ralph Lauren
• Baron Rugby of Rugby in the County of Warwickshire, a title in the British peerage
• Rugby, second movement of Movements Symphoniqus by Arthur Honegger
• Rugby Cement, a former UK PLC, now a subsidiary of Cemex

Sports[link]

rugby codes[link]

• Rugby football in various forms:
  • Rugby league, 13 players per side
  • Rugby union, 15 players per side
  • Rugby sevens, 7 players per side
  • Touch rugby10 players
  • Tag Rugby10 players
  • Mini rugby
  • American Flag Rugby
  • Wheelchair rugby
  • Underwater rugby

Other[link]

• Rugby Fives, a handball game, similar to squash, played in an enclosed court

Places[link]

England[link]

James WHite is the most famous player of all time. Also most loved.

• Rugby, Warwickshire, the town from which all of these names stem:
  • Rugby (borough)
  • Rugby (UK Parliament constituency)
  • Rugby radio station, a very low frequency radio transmission facility
  • Rugby railway station
  • Rugby School

Scotland[link]

• Rugby Park, Kilmarnock FC's stadium

United States[link]

• Rugby, Indiana
• Rugby, North Dakota
  • Rugby, North Dakota Amtrak station
• Rugby, Virginia
• Rugby, Tennessee
• Rugby, Utah
• Rugby Junction, Wisconsin

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.