FAQs

Tag Rugby Explained

If you’ve played Tag Rugby in school or as a child, you’ll see that the official Try Tag Rugby rules are quite different – our rules lead to a more dynamic and enjoyable game. Our shorts also use Velcro pads, rather than traditional Tag Rugby belts, creating a cleaner and safer game. Plus, you can get down the pub after!

Although games are 40 minutes long, rolling substitutes are permitted, so you can come off the pitch for a breather as often – or as little – as you require. Plus, there’s so much going on, that you won’t even realise how much exercise you’ve done!

Of course not! We offer leagues at multiple different ability levels all over the country, varying from complete beginners who’ve never so much as looked at a rugby ball, right up to experienced players. Whether you’re a lifelong rugby player or a new starter, our Free Taster Sessions will help identify the perfect level for you.

Points are scored via tries, like in rugby. However, there’s no conversions in our game – tries are worth one point, so it’s easy to keep track of the score. In mixed games, female tries are worth double.

Tag Rugby games last around 40 minutes.

Tag Rugby can be played on pitches of varying sizes, with varying numbers of players per side. The number of players on the pitch for each league is always noted on our website.

The various formats we offer and male / female split for mixed leagues is as follows;
8-a-side – four males (maximum) and four females
7-a-side – four males (maximum) and three females
6-a-side – three males (maximum) and three females
5-a-side – three males (maximum) and two females

How leagues & fixtures work

You can view fixtures and tables via the Play section of our website.

The exact structure of your league will be communicated early in the season. Depending on the number of teams and scheduled weeks, the winner may be decided on a first past the post basis or you may have a number of weeks of finals.

The player of the match is decided by the match referee. They will look for a player who has performed well and played within the spirit of the game, particularly adhering to the player code of conduct.

Whilst we consider Tag Rugby a very safe sport which can be played by players of all shapes, sizes and fitness levels, like all sports there is a small risk of injury. There is also a very minor risk of sustaining a bad injury. This is why Try Tag Rugby through our partners the RFL provide Personal Accident Insurance to all registered players in case of catastrophic injuries.

Thankfully since beginning in mid 2009, and with tens of thousands of matches played, we have had no such events take place in our leagues. We strongly hope that no Try Tag Rugby player shall ever suffer such an injury. However with our Personal Accident Insurance we have the peace of mind that if anything bad was to happen to one of our players, they would have insurance cover. To make sure you are covered, please make sure that you and all the players in your team are correctly registered by filling in all the details in your online profile and confirming your email address. To find out further information about our Personal Accident Insurance, click here.

It is the team captain’s responsibility to check the score at half-time and full-time with the referee. If the team captain thinks there is a discrepancy, they should raise the issue immediately.

If your team would like to query the result of a match, you should contact us as soon as possible after the match, and certainly no later than one week after the match. Once the week period has passed, we will not be in a position to change match results.

Joining a league

Approximately four days out from the league beginning, you will receive the season launch email from Try Tag Rugby regarding the draw, individual players allocated to teams and details specific to your venue. If your league is due to start in two days time and you are yet to hear from us, please contact us.

Yes this isn’t a problem, subject to their being available space in a team. Available space in a league is displayed on the league details section for each League but please feel free to contact us if you are unsure and/or to double check. Fees will be prorated if you join a season after it has started.

If you have some friends who also want to play, but not enough to join as a team, just sign up as individuals and then contact us requesting to be on the same team.

Alternatively if you have at least six or more players, you can register as a team and contact us to request a group fee. The group fee is a pro rata team fee price. As long as sufficient notice is provided (please email us at least one week before your league is due to start), we can potentially top up your squad with other players. You and the rest of your group can also try and find more players, see our create a Tag Rugby team page for some ideas. If you are paying a pro-rata team fee, Try Tag Rugby reserves the right to add extra players to your squad to help cover the cost of team entry.

Yes, that is no problem. It is quite common for players to miss one or more weeks during a season. Just let your team and team organiser know as far in advance as possible. Most squads will be big enough that having a few players missing won’t cause a problem. If your squad is small or lots of players will be unavailable on the same date you may need to find a ringer for your team. See the Find a Ringer section.

If you are enjoying playing why not try and encourage other people to get involved, you could even try and create your own team! Find out more in our Create a Team section.

Creating a new team doesn’t necessarily mean the end of your current team, why not look at creating a team to play on a different night of the week or at a one day event. Some leagues do also allow dual registration of a small number of players within the same league. Please contact us if you want to find out what might be possible.

Towards the end of the current season you should start thinking about what you want to do next season. Your options for continuing to play are:
Re join a league with your current team
Once in a team the easiest way to join a league is to register as a team. See Create a Tag Rugby Team for details of how to register as a team
Create your own team – get your friends, family and work colleagues together and enter your own team. See Create a Tag Rugby Team for more details.
Join as an individual and be added to another team – if your team isn’t going to continue or you would just like to play for a different team and meet some new people you can register for the league as an individual again. If your current team is continuing but you would rather play for a different team please send us a message using the contact us section asking to be placed on a different team.
Join another team through somebody you know – Try Tag Rugby leagues are very friendly and social so it is likely you will get to know people from another team, from time to time other teams have space for extra players so you could decide to switch teams.

If you are not going to be continuing with your current team next season, please let your current teammates know as soon as possible so that they can try and find a replacement player.

We encourage players and teams to start thinking about the following season 3-4 weeks before the end of the current season. Many leagues have limited space and often have a priority window (often 17 days before the normal registration deadline) for existing teams to re join the leagues and to be guaranteed a place in the league. If you leave making a decision on next season until the last minute you may risk missing out on your preferred league/venue.

Tag Rugby can be played on pitches of varying sizes, with varying numbers of players per side. The number of players on the pitch for each league is always noted on our website.

The most common format is the 7-a-side mixed format consisting of four males (maximum) and three females. For this format, we will place a maximum of 12 players (7 male and 5 female) in your squad.

A squad of 12 players ensures you can still field a team if some of your players can’t play due to other commitments or injury. It also gives you a couple of substitutes of each sex for during the game. Unlimited subs are permitted in all games and ALL players should sub on and off regularly to ensure everybody gets a similar amount of game time. On rare occasions players find themselves on a team where somebody doesn’t substitute as often as everybody else, this can lead to some people getting greater game time than others. In this situation if you don’t feel comfortable raising it within the team yourself please speak to your venue supervisor so that they can subtly raise it with the team.

In the case where a whole team of individuals has been formed, your venue supervisor will speak to the team after round one, and ask who is interested in becoming the team organiser. The person who is team organiser can then access the contact details of all players in the team by logging into their account and clicking on my teams, scrolling down to the team and then clicking on view existing players. The organiser can then send a weekly email around to the squad or set up a Whatsapp group, to create pre-match banter and confirm numbers for your weekly fixture.

Don’t let your team turn you off Tag Rugby! If there is a problem with your current team then please raise this with your venue supervisor. Often teams just need some time to get to know each other and gel together. Where this is not the case the Venue Supervisor may be able to speak to the team and help resolve the issue. On the rare occasions where an issue can’t be resolved we may be able to move you and/or others to a different team or league.

League regulations

Abuse of referees or officials will not be tolerated. Referees have the full power to sin bin and send off players from Try Tag Rugby matches. Try Tag Rugby will hand out lengthy penalties for violent, unsporting or intimidating behaviour against staff or referees.

In the case where a match needs to be abandoned due to factors other than what have occurred on the pitch (e.g weather, flood light failure etc) a result stands if:

  • in a regular 40 minute match, half-time has been reached.
  • in a shortened or twenty minute match, at least 75% of match time has been played.

If these conditions are met, the match result will be counted as the score at the time that the match was abandoned. If not, the match will be replayed if possible.

In order to avoid a forfeit a team must have 4 registered players present at kick-off time for a result to stand in an official 7-a-side match (3 registered players for 6-a-side, 5 registered players for 8-a-side).

Even if your team is struggling to raise a full squad, you should always make an effort to get all available players to show up. If less than the required number of players show up, a social match can still be run.

If your team must forfeit, please notify Try Tag Rugby at least 24 hours prior to kick-off so that your opposition can be informed. Teams that forfeit on late notice will be heavily penalised.

A team forfeiting will be recorded as a 10-0 loss. Additional penalties will be applied to teams in the following circumstances:

  • Less than 24 hours notice of a forfeit and not providing 2 or more players to play a friendly
    – 1 competition point deducted
  • Notice after 4pm on match day (Mon-Fri evening leagues) and not providing 2 or more players to play a friendly
    – 2 competition points deducted
  • Notice after noon on Friday (Weekend leagues) and not providing 2 or more players to play a friendly
    – 2 competition points deducted
  • Giving no notice of forfeiting and not showing up
    – 3 competition points deducted

If a team forfeits 2 matches in one season “After 4pm on match day in Mon-Fri evening leagues, on the day in weekend leagues or complete no show”, Try Tag Rugby reserves the right to remove the team from the league.

Teams may use a ringer or ringers if they are short of players for their match.  Please read below for the restrictions.

Number of ringers allowed:

  • A mixed team may have one and only one male ringer as long as this brings them to no more than one male sub.
  • In addition, a mixed team may have one and only one female ringer as long as this brings them to no more than one female sub.
  • In men’s or ladies leagues a team may have up to two ringers as long as this brings them to no more than two subs.

Ringer standard:

  • Ringers may not be used that are registered in a higher grade division for that venue on the same night.
  • Ringers should not be of too high a standard for the particular division despite not being registered for a team on that night. Ringers are allowed at the discretion of TTR staff and match referee. Please check with the League Organiser/League Administrator before your match kicks off!

Definitions:

  • Ringer – Someone not officially registered as a full-time paying member of a team.
  • Sub – Someone on the side lines i.e. A team has four guys on the pitch and one sub on the side lines.

TTR staff may pull players from the pitch that are not allowed to play. A team not adhering to the above regulations for a significant amount of time in the match may be recorded as a 10-0 forfeit by the venue supervisor.  If you believe that an opposing side are not adhering to the ringer regulations, please speak to the venue supervisor during or before the match as soon as you can.  If the venue supervisor is unavailable, please speak to the referee.

If a higher grade player has subbed on uninvited in a lower grade match, then action will be taken against that player. The team however should report this to the venue supervisor immediately.

Note: On occasions League Administrators for new or developing leagues may choose to play variations on these regulations. In which case this will be noted in the welcome email.

Due to feedback from teams who often end up playing against the same ringers weekly, we have tightened the regulations regarding how frequently players can fill in or “ring” for teams.

Players are only allowed to play in one match as a ringer each night. Any players found to be breaking this rule will be banned from being ringers and or playing in friendly matches. This allows more opportunities for different players to pick up games as ringers throughout the season.

The definition of a ringer is someone not officially registered as a full-time paying member of a team.

Try Tag Rugby recommends the following if your team is short of registered players:

  • Team captains should use the “find ringers” option whilst logged into the Try Tag Rugby dashboard. However, when contact is made please check that the player is not registered in a higher grade team at your venue.
  • If your team is generally struggling for players try posting on the wall of our Facebook group. The Try Tag Rugby community is full of players who are happy to help out teams. Alternatively, you could try placing a free advert on the Gumtree website or signing up for a sports partners website such as Totally Sporty.
  • If you’re still struggling on match day, contact your League Administrator who with notice can quickly send an email to teams from your grade playing in a different time slot. If you are generally struggling week to week for players, contact your League Administrator who may be able to add individually registered players to your squad.
  • If it’s nearly kick-off and you are still short, try and find players from other teams in your grade or a lower grade who may be hanging around, if you are unsure of the grade they play in to confirm with the member of staff first.
  • As a last resort, ask a member of staff whether you can borrow players from a higher grade team.

Dual registration, or players registering for more than one team within the same league and gender category, is not permitted unless a formal request has been approved by TTR.

If a player is registered in two different teams (whether in different divisions or the same division) on the same night, then we can’t guarantee there will be no fixture clashes.

Whole teams such as a men’s team and a mixed team using the majority of the same players will be guaranteed to have no fixture clashes.

In all circumstances, if you plan to play in two teams (in different divisions) on the same night and you wish to avoid fixture clashes, this needs to be pre-arranged by emailing the League Organiser/League Administrator at least 7 days prior to the league start date.

Temporary registration of players to avoid forfeit is illegal. If a team is caught registering players to avoid a forfeit the team will have three competition points deducted. Try Tag Rugby reserves the right to ban teams that are caught doing this more than once.

Team squads for the season will be defined by the registered squad on the system at kick-off in round two of the league. Team squad lists will be printed at this point.

Players may be registered after this deadline, however the League Organiser/League Administrator must be notified in advance.

Team organisers, please be aware that we are considering putting a limit on the number of dual registered players (players registered in two teams on the same night) a team can have so it is advised that strive towards having a squad of players that only play for one team at your venue on the night.

The limit on the number of players you can have in your squad is 20. This is across all leagues and tournaments except where otherwise stated.

Dispensation will be granted to teams on application if a good reason can be provided why a larger squad is needed.

ITF (International Tag Federation) approved Tag Rugby shorts or ladies Tag Rugby tights are compulsory for play.

Tag Rugby shorts that are approved for play by the ITF will have the following brand names on them:

  • Try Tag Rugby or TTR
  • OzTag or OES
  • NZTFI (New Zealand Tag Football) orSAS
  • Tagrugby.ie (Only Shorts from 2016 onward – coloured hoops on one leg). Old ITRA shorts branded “Tag Rugby Sports” or “TRS” are no longer allowed in Try Tag Rugby leagues from Early Summer 2019.

Shorts cannot be modified in any way otherwise they will not be allowed for play.

These regulations are in place to improve the consistency and fairness across the sport a well as safety by making sure that:

  • Velcro is standard (grade, size and position) across Tag Rugby Shorts
  • Shorts/tights length is standard and not shorter than the tags

Try Tag Rugby branded shorts are available:

  • For hire: If you forget your shorts you can hire a pair from the venue supervisor.
  • Tag Rugby belts are strictly not permitted in Try Tag Rugby leagues or events.
  • Non-International Tag Federation approved brands of Tag Rugby shorts or ladies Tag Rugby tights won’t be permitted to be worn in any Try Tag Rugby leagues or events.
  • Metal studs on football/rugby boots are not permitted for play.
  • Outward facing pockets on clothing are not allowed. Pockets may either be zipped up or the garment turned inside out.
  • Jewellery & watches must be removed prior to taking to the field. Fitness devices can be worn but must be covered by a sweatband (rulebook reference 3.5)
  • In addition to the above, fingernails must be kept short and smooth in order to prevent injury to your opposition.

Spawtz

​​The option to change your team name is only available to team organisers. To become a team organiser, ask your current team organiser to log into their account, and change your status from regular player to team organiser. Alternatively, contact your local region and we can make this change for you. To change the team name log in to your account, then click on my teams, find the team you wish to rename, and next to the team name will be a hyperlink saying “rename this team”. Change the team name and then click on update, to save the changes.

Log in to your account, if you have forgotten your password you can ask for a password reminder to be sent to your email account. Then click on my statement, and scroll to the bottom of the page to get to your personal statement. Above your personal statement will be the statements of any teams you belong to. This is where you can make part payments against your team fees.

Click on make a payment for this bill, enter the amount you wish to pay and click make payment. You can enter your card details securely.

Each week before your fixture you will receive a reminder email. On this you will have details of your fixture time and who you are playing. The email will allow you to indicate that you are available or unavailable for the match. Your team organiser will get a notification as soon as you click on the link.

If you haven’t received a reminder email that you believe was due, please check your email spam folder first in case it has gone there.
You can also indicate your availability for any scheduled matches by logging in to your account, and clicking on the calendar link in the control panel at the top of the page.

Most teams also have a WhatsApp group to keep track of who is playing weekly and for plenty of banter between games!

Standards

Little or no experience of playing Tag Rugby or Rugby of any form

Experience of playing a couple of seasons of Tag at beginner grade or moderate experience of playing Rugby of any form

Experience of playing a number of seasons of Tag or experienced rugby player of any other form

Experienced Tag Rugby player or experienced rugby player who has played at least one season of Tag Rugby previously. Some additional International Rules are played

These leagues will include a mixture of players of all standards and are therefore open to all players.

Team kit

Yes, our items are fully sublimated which means you can have any combination of colours or patterns. If you don’t know what design you want, get in touch and let us know your team’s name and any colours you’d like on the kit, along with any embellishments like stripes, curves, or anything else. You can also think about colours or patterns you don’t like. We can then create a design for you.

For a new order there’s a minimal order of 10 tops but this can be a split of jerseys and/or singlets, and if you want shorts/tights there’s also a minimum of 10 but this can be a mix of shorts and/or tights.

Yes, for reorders there’s a minimum order of three items, but this can be a mix of any items.

Depending on your brief, we can usually turnaround initial designs in under 48 hours. The refinement of the design may take a couple of days, but a lot will depend on how quickly you feedback on the design/s you are sent. Once the design is finalised and the kit is paid in full, you can expect your kit to be delivered within 4 weeks. We send full kits by courier.

Yes, names and numbers on jerseys and singlets are included in the price. Also included are sponsors logos or a team logo.

Yes of course, however we’d need this supplied in vector format. Alternative you can provide a jpg or png logo, and we can convert this to a vector for a small additional charge.

Yes, our designer has created hundreds of logos and we can provide a logo for you for a small additional charge.

Yes, however we would need this in vector format on our template which can be provided on request.

It is important to note that women’s tights and unisex shorts are vastly different products, and the discrepancy in cost is solely attributed to the materials used.

It should be highlighted that while our shorts are crafted entirely from polyester, our tights are comprised of a blend of polyester and elastane, a superior and more expensive material.

This unique combination allows for a snug and comfortable fit that optimises performance. Additionally, our tights boast a taped gripper at the leg base, which provides a secure fit and incurs an additional cost.

We are dedicated to providing the highest quality products while also aiming to keeping costs affordable for players. Over the past few years, we have implemented numerous enhancements to improve the durability and lifespan of our tights.

When you are happy with the design, we’ll send you an order form to fill in. Sizing information is available within the order form, and it’s here where you can indicate sizes, names and numbers for your order. Once you return the form, we’ll add the cost to your team statement (on trytagrugby.com), and once paid we’ll send the order over to our factory. If you’re not part of Try Tag Rugby, or you’d rather pay by invoice, we can issue an invoice for the cost of kit.

UK delivery costs; 1-2 items £3.99, up to 4 items £7.95, 5-9 items £12.95, 10+ items (Full kit) £18.95.

Yes, we’d be happy to provide a quote, please contact us for more information.

Custom made items cannot be returned for refund or exchange, returns can only be accepted for faulty items.

GB Pathway

You’ll need to be a registered Try Tag Rugby player or registered with another full ITF member. Anyone who was born in the United Kingdom; has a British passport; or has lived in the United Kingdom for at least the last three consecutive years. You cannot have played Tag Rugby for a different national team in the preceding year.

Following the Tag Rugby Performance Pyramid from top to bottom is the best way into the national setup. Playing weekly in leagues in your region will develop the fundamental skills and consistency all players require. Entering tournaments will provide you with the experience of playing a wider range of competitive opposition. Joining a Super League team will expose you to regular high level Tag Rugby. Having done this trialling for and representing your UK Tag Nationals region is then the best way to show your talents to the Great Britain coaches before registering for GB trials.

Great Britain trials are run annually at the start of spring to bring new and emerging talent into the national sides. An open trial is always run in London, while the last couple of years have seen additional trials run in Coventry, Oxford and Manchester to better facilitate access to the national programme for regional players.

Players of all experience levels are welcome to register for the open London trials as historically there have been players with representative experience from other sports that have made rapid progress into the Great Britain sides as a result of their transferable skills. However the majority of players benefit from taking the time to learn and develop the fundamental skills of the sport through leagues, tournaments, and finally Tag Nationals.

There are currently eight Great Britain sides. We have Mixed, Women’s and Men’s sides in the Open’s category; Mixed, Women’s and Men’s sides in the 30s category; a side in the Women’s 35 category; and a Men’s side in the 40s category. Part of Great Britain Tag Rugby’s long-term vision is to create Mixed, Women’s and Men’s teams in U21s category; Mixed and Women’s teams in the 40s category and explore the creation of teams in the 50s category.

International Tag Rugby is played in the 8-a-side format. Mixed categories have a maximum of four male players on the pitch at any one time.
All age category restrictions are based on the date of the next ITF Tag World Cup. The dates below are the current ones for the 2023 tournament. Open categories have no age restrictions.
30s/Seniors – born on or before 31st December 1993 with men in the Mixed teams born on or before 31st December 1990.
40s – born on or before 31st December 1983.
50s – born on or before 31st December 1973.
U21s – born on or after 1st January 2002.

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TTR Rules quiz 1

TTR Rules quiz on some basic rules

1 / 8

How many players does a team need in order to start a match

2 / 8

Team A wins the toss. What happens next?

3 / 8

The ball carrier runs over the opposition try line and gets tagged before they can put the ball down. What is the call?

4 / 8

What is the call when a player kicks the ball in open play and it bounces beyond the opposition tryline?

5 / 8

The player in possession of the ball loses it forwards out of hands. Who can dive on the ball?

6 / 8

A rollball takes place and the dummy half delays in picking the ball up. What happens next?

7 / 8

A player kicks through, is late tagged, and then regathers the ball with one tag on. How does the defence stop the player from scoring a try?

8 / 8

The ball carrier runs back behind their own try line and then back into the field of play. What happens next

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