With two international Tag Rugby tournaments on the horizon in 2022 we are pleased to announce the six Great Britain Elite Player Squads training this year.

The teams will be preparing for this summer’s International Tag Series, due to take place at the University of Limerick, Ireland from 4-6th August. This will be followed by the British & Irish Cup held at West Park Leeds RUFC on 3rd-4th September. The Great Britain players and coaches will also have an eye on the rescheduled 2023 Tag World Cup with all six teams aiming to win medals on the biggest stage of all.

Looking toward the year ahead, Men’s Open Head Coach, James Baron said: “After a tough 2021, the Men’s Open are looking forward to the new season and getting stuck into training. We’ve added some new faces with potential, and are excited to see how they develop over the summer. With two tournaments in the schedule, lots to look forward to in 2022.”

This month saw two trials take place, one held in Coventry for the first time, followed by a double session in London last Sunday (13th March). Over 150 players trialed, impressing the coaches with the depth of talent in the game across the country. The value of these trials is reflected in nearly 50 trialists being selected for 2022, a third of whom attended the Coventry session.

Following Sunday’s selection meeting, David Shipley, Women’s Open Head Coach said: “The team put in a huge amount of work last year, resulting in some really positive performances in Limerick in October. Myself and Cat Lindsey (Assistant Coach) are really looking forward to building on those successes this year and ultimately at the World Cup. We’ve brought some exciting players in and have high hopes for the squad!”

This was echoed by Dan Ampaw, Head Coach of Mixed Open: “I’m really excited to see how our team develops over this next season. We have an exciting calendar of international Tag in 2022 which provides plenty of motivation and opportunity for our squad.

“I was really impressed with the standard at trials and as a result we’ve been able to add a number of trialists to our squad which will enable us to evolve our game style as we build towards the 2023 World Cup.”

Will Shepherd, Great Britain Programme Director says that: “2022 looks set to be a trailblazing year for the Great Britain programme. We will play in the inaugural International Tag Series, an exciting tournament that will be mirrored in Australia as our day turns to night, while we continue to grow the programme nationally with trials, training weekends and tournaments outside of London.

“We saw a spirited performance by all six teams in Limerick last year as we attempted to win the B&I away from home for the first time. The challenge for this year is simple – take another step up in order to make sure both hands are firmly on the trophy in September. We have selected the best players in the country to achieve that goal. Congratulations to everyone named today.”

ELITE PLAYER SQUADS

Great Britain Mixed Open
Head Coach:
Daniel Ampaw
Assistant Coach: TBA
Elysha Amed (Coventry)
Zack Akil (London)
Daniel Ampaw (London)
Sophie Behan (London)*
Grace Brown (London)
Emily Codd (Bristol)
Alfie Dudman Jones (London)*
Jake Dunley (London)
Josh Ede (Thames Valley)*
Tom Entwistle (London)
Freya Entwistle (London)
Anna Ewbank (London)*
Isaac Fanin (London)
Harriet Field (London)*
Sophie Gallagher (Bristol)*
Henry Greenhalgh (London)*
Marcus Lampkin (Thames Valley)
Megan Lewis (Coventry)*
Usman Merchant (London)*
Rich Milford (London)*
Tom Newsome (Bristol)*
Jake Powell (London)
Eleanore Richardson (London)
Lucy Ridler (London)
Polly Roberts (London)*
Alex Ryan (Yorkshire)*
Laura Suggitt (London)*
Charlotte Towerton (London)
Reiss Walker (London)
Simon Welbirg (London)
Rowan White (London)*
Freya Wilde (Yorkshire)*

Great Britain Mixed Seniors
Head Coach:
Andrew Davis
Assistant Coach: Jay Beare
Jay Beare (London)
Rebecca Calver (London)
Samantha Carter-Allison (London)
Jackson Dalton (London)
Mike Dowd (London)*
Gill du Toit (London)
Laura Elliott (Yorkshire)
Susan Eriksen (London)
Ronan Farrell (London)
Rocio Garcia (London)
Alex Hickson (London)
Sarah Jackson (London)
Sarah Jones (London)
Hafa Karim (Yorkshire)
Lois Lau (London)
Billy Lyons (London)
Breeda Mac Eoin (London)
Steven Macdermott (London)
Daisy Mankee (Yorkshire)*
Claire McAteer (London)
Sian McGuinness (Manchester)*
Simon Morley (London)
Peter Murray (London)
Iain Naylor (London)
Peter O’Donnell (London)*
Joshua Pavlovec (London)
Ben Picknett (London)
Jane Pilgrim (London)*
Tessa Saunders (London)
Amanda Scarfo (London)
Neill Tannock (London)
Cheryl Woodman (Yorkshire)

Great Britain Women’s Open
Head Coach:
David Shipley
Assistant Coaches: Cat Lindsay / Ant Merrett
Tomi Akinlusi (London)*
Leah Alexander (London)
Anne Broadley (London)
Izzy Bruton (Thames Valley)*
Ashley Carson (London)
Tessa Crowley (London)
Chloe Elias (London)*
Hannah Furey (Manchester)*
Florrie Greenhill (Bristol)
Emily Gulvin (London)*
Eleanor Hawketts (London)
Sophie Hollows (London)*
Emily Ip (London)
Emma Jackson (London)*
Sarah Jeffery (Thames Valley)*
Katie Johnson (London)
Ellie Jones (London)*
Alice Kendle (London)
Hannah Kent (London)*
Rachel Livingston (Yorkshire)
Sally Mantell (London)
Ellie McCarthy (Bristol)*
Angela McGann (London)
Ellen McGuinness (London)
Kate Merson (London)*
Laura Riches (Manchester)*
Emily Rona-Roper (London)
Lucy Saunders (London)
Anita Snowdon (London)
Anna Tolmarsh (London)*
Jade Walker (London)
Hannah Wilson (London)

Great Britain Women’s Seniors
Head Coach:
Mark Roughsedge
Assistant Coaches: Kirsty Clarke / Ant Merrett
Anita Barton (Yorkshire)*
Samantha Bedford (London)
Nat Bell (Yorkshire)*
Marianne Bowtell (London)
Hanna Breckons (London)*
Nikki Briant (London)
Kirsty Clarke (London)
Kat Draper (London)
Francis Gamble (London)*
Steffy Geertsen (London)
Naomi Hampton (London)
Caroline Henzell (London)
Sarah Hunter (London)
Hollie Johnston (London)
Cat Lindsay (London)
Corinna Litscher (London)
Nadine Mason-Bertrand (London)
Joanna Miles (London)
Sarah O’Neill (London)
Marine Ogier (Manchester)
Angelina Pascual (London)*
Charlotte Pearce (Coventry)
Sophia Prout (London)
Phoebe Robins (London)
Gemma Robinson (Yorkshire)
Katie Sage (London)
Keri Smyth (London)*
Emily Stone (London)
Alice Tozzi (London)
Frances Wehrwein (London)
Maeve Wylie (London)*
Min Yang (London)*

Great Britain Men’s Open
Head Coach:
James Baron
Assistant Coach: TBA
Alex Babb (London)*
James Baron (London)
Stephen Barry (London)
Marcus Campopiano (Thames Valley)*
Sam Chamberlain (London)*
Will Cole (London)*
Josh Crewe (London)*
Nick de Jonge (London)
Cameron Fisher (London)*
George Fox-Edwards (London)
George Goldie (London)*
Ollie Greenhill (London)
Andrew Harkins (Yorkshire)
Dean Irvine (London)
Ben John (London)*
Jake Jones (London)
Rex Jude (London)
Callum Manley (Coventry)*
Will Marsden (London)
Elliot McDermott (London)
George Montagu (London)
Dante O’Reilly (London)
Ciarán Poynter (London)
James Price (London)*
Sam Read (London)
Russell Reid (London)*
Joshua Roberts (London)
Tom Stone (London)
Myles Turner (London)
Daniel Waters (Yorkshire)*
Nick Wilkes (London)
Harry Young (London)

Great Britain Men’s Seniors
Head Coach:
Kim Parkinson
Assistant Coach: Ben Smith
Peter Ainsley (London)
Johnny Berrill (London)
Mike Bloom (London)
Mark Crowley (London)
Chris Dixon (Coventry)*
Nick Garcia (London)*
James Gibson (London)
Matthew Greenbank (Coventry)*
Olly Hampson (London)
Rizwaan Hanid (London)
Tom Higgs (London)
Raphael Himiona (London)
Flo Hodgson-Tuck (London)
Ben Hughes (London)
Kenny Hunt (London)
Raymond Kwan (Yorkshire)*
Joseph Ladbury (Yorkshire)*
Steve Leary (London)
Daniel McAviney (London)*
Adam Morrison (London)
Robert Murch (London)
Kyle Nish (London)
Liam O’Keeffe (London)
Benjamin Payne (London)
Rob Poole (London)
Gareth Roach (London)
Kirby Rona-Roper (London)
Nick Stanworth (London)
Matthew Whitaker (London)
Joshua White (Coventry)*
David Wilkinson (Yorkshire)
Sam Winter (London)

*denotes players uncapped at test level

Key Dates for the Great Britain Programme

MAY 2022
21.05.22 – UK Try Tag Rugby Nationals – West Park Leeds RUFC
22.05.22 – Great Britain Training Camp 1 – Leeds

JUNE 2022
26.06.22 – Great Britain Training Camp 2 – Bristol

AUGUST 2022
04-06.08.22 – International Tag Series – University of Limerick, Ireland

SEPTEMBER 2022
03-04.09.22 – British and Irish Cup – West Yorkshire

JUNE 2023
British & Irish Cup – Ireland

AUGUST 2023
Tag World Cup – University of Limerick, Ireland