Following the initial coaching application window the second phase of the 2024 tournament – player nominations – is now open.
Player Nominations
As this is a representative tournament, selection for your region is not guaranteed. To be considered for selection, you must nominate yourself by registering via the links below. Applications are open now and will close at 12pm on Friday 8th December. The 2024 UK Tag Nationals squads will then be announced nationally on Thursday 14th December with successful and unsuccessful players notified by email shortly before this.
Nominations are a two stage process. You should first follow the links below to register yourself on the system before following the link on registration confirmation screen or in the email you will receive in order to complete the second part of the process on a google form. This form does not include kit order details this year.
Most regions will be holding trials to help managers and coaches select the teams. Although players are encouraged to attend any trials being held in your region, people who are genuinely unable to attend trials will still be considered for selection. Registering for trials and nominating yourself for selection are two separate processes and you must do both if you are going to trial.
Registration Links (Part 1)
Brighton & Hove: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/1443/registration/individual
Bristol: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/892/registration/individual
Coventry & Warwickshire: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/893/registration/individual
Edinburgh: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/1220/registration/individual
East London Nominations: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/894/registration/individual
East London Trial: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/1113/registration/individual
Manchester: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/895/registration/individual
North London Nominations: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/896/registration/individual
North London Trial: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/1089/registration/individual
Sheffield: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/1219/registration/individual
South London Nominations: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/897/registration/individual
South London Trial: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/1103/registration/individual
Thames Valley: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/898/registration/individual
West London Nominations: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/899/registration/individual
West London Trial: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/1100/registration/individual
Wigan: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/900/registration/individual
Yorkshire: https://trytagrugby.spawtz.com/leagues/891/registration/individual
Key Information
The 2024 UK Tag Nationals is confirmed to take place at the University of Warwick on Saturday 11th May. The dates and venues of the three Regional Tournaments can all be found in the document below.
The full UK Tag Nationals brief for coaches and players is available at the link and includes a full timeline of the 2024 UK Tag Nationals as well as extensive details on all aspects of the tournament relating to coaching, player nomination and selection, training, kit and fees: https://www.trytagrugby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/UK-Tag-Nationals-2024-Coach-and-Player-Brief-2.pdf
New Teams and Categories
Following the successful inaugural year for the Great Britain Women’s 35s that culminated in a World Cup bronze medal, an aligned category will be introduced for the UK Tag Nationals. The category will be called Women’s 33s and will be open to all women who will turn 33 on or before 31st December 2024.
The Men’s 40s category is also being renamed to Men’s 38s and is open to all men who will turn 38 on or before 31st December 2024.
Try Tag Rugby is delighted that Brighton & Hove is intending to enter teams into the 2024 tournament and looks forward to welcoming the Dolphins to the ever expanding Nationals family.
Coaching Applications
Coaching applications are still being welcomed for vacant positions in your region. Interested and incumbent coaches should contact their Regional Manager to submit their application. Details on the role of the coach can be found here.
Review Findings
The review of the 2023 tournament was an in depth process that engaged stakeholders at every level of the UK Tag Nationals process. Encouragingly the player feedback reported that the 2023 tournament compared favourably to those that players have been involved in before.
Key findings from the review process included the following:
- The majority of stakeholders and regions want the tournament to remain a single day tournament, however there is a clear desire for longer matches that will necessitate a further review of the subject and a move toward a two day tournament in future years
- An overwhelming majority were in favour of continuing the current tournament format with single and mixed gender on the same day and categories progressing from pools to knockouts rather than starting in tiered divisions
- The Regional Tournaments were seen as a success in 2023 and so will return in 2024 with the addition of a London edition
- The most popular category to be added was a Women’s senior age grade category which will happen in the form of the Women’s 33s
- There was a desire for coach applications and appointments to be considered annually and before player nominations which is why the 2024 tournament is being launched with a coaching application process
- 12 was considered the ideal size for a tournament squad with larger training squads being seen as a positive addition. However it was clear that players only involved in the training squads didn’t want to buy kit. As a result injury reserves are being introduced for 2024 in an effort to preserve training squad sizes but avoid the purchasing of kit that may not be used at Nationals itself. We do not feel that this model is perfect but we will trial in for 2024 and conduct another review following it
- On the question of how often kit designs should be released, the preference was to maintain the two yearly cycle
- Player feedback indicated a preference for training costs to be adhoc rather than built into the overall tournament fee
Core 2024 UK Tag Nationals Management Personnel:
- UK Tag Nationals Director – Will Shepherd
- Brighton & Hove Dolphins – Steph McCabe
- Bristol Brabazons – Jamie Dinning
- Coventry & Warwickshire Hurricanes- Troy Perkins & Alan Robinson
- Edinburgh Highlanders – Clodagh Nic Lochlainn
- East London Eels – Dan Sherman & Fran Hales
- North London Nighthawks – Paul Evitt
- Manchester Worker Bees – Adam Johnson
- Sheffield Storm – Joe Barker
- South London Seals – Ben Shanahan-Sanders
- Thames Valley Titans – Roger Rebelo
- West London Wolves – Juan Cucchi & Ciara Langtry
- Wigan Wizards – Dylan Barlow
- Yorkshire White Roses – Bobby Domville & Lewis Cadman
Contact details for your Regional Manager can be found in the coach & player brief.