After showcasing their talents for their regions at the UK Tag Nationals the focus for the best Tag players in the country now shifts to the International Tag Series, taking place on the 5-6th August in Limerick, Ireland.

The inaugural running of this tournament will mark a year until the 2023 Tag World Cup takes place at the same venue and is therefore a key progress marker for all seven Great Britain sides. It is also the first time that a Great Britain Men’s 40s side will play an international match.

The newly appointed Men’s 40s Head Coach Alex Sadgrove said: “Selecting the GB Men’s 40s team is a huge honour and we have terrific ambition for this squad which represents over 800 years of guile, wit and fortitude on and off the Tag pitch. This isn’t an opportunity for one final roar for these players, it’s the next step in the evolution of the sport we love. We can’t wait to see these GB lions flourish on the field.”

To best replicate the challenge that the World Cup will bring in 13 months time the 11 Irish, seven British and three South African teams have been divided into three categories of six teams each: Mixed, Women’s and Men’s and a further three teams in the Men’s Masters category. Two Great Britain sides will compete in each of the Mixed, Women’s and Men’s categories and the programme is expecting strong results across the board.

The opportunity to play a wider range of teams than at the British & Irish Cup is an exciting one as Mixed Open Head Coach Dan Ampaw explains: “Selection for the ITS has been extremely difficult due to the high standards at training this season. We’ve picked a squad with a blend of youth and experience and one which reflects a new playing style for MXO.

“We are really looking forward to testing ourselves in a new format which replicates the challenges of the World Cup. In particular we are looking forward to the exciting challenge of playing a travelling South African Mixed Open side as well as the more familiar London based South African Mixed Seniors side.”

Will Shepherd, Great Britain Programme Director said: “Any time that we get to see the Great Britain players pull on the jersey and represent their country is special. The International Tag Series presents a particularly exciting opportunity for the programme to lay down a marker of the success we want to achieve at next year’s Tag World Cup as well as ensure that Great Britain is the first name minted on each of the International Tag Series’ trophies.”

The Great Britain squads for the 2022 International Tag Series are:

Great Britain Mixed Open
Head Coach: Daniel Ampaw
Assistant Coach: Charlotte Towerton
Team Manager: Mark Pett-Ridge
International Tag Series Squad:

Elysha Amed (Coventry)
Daniel Ampaw (London)
Grace Brown (London)
Emily Codd (Bristol)
Nick de Jonge (London)
Jake Dunley (London)
Freya Entwistle (London)
Tom Entwistle (London) [C]
Harriet Field (London)*
Henry Greenhalgh (London)*
Marcus Lampkin (Thames Valley)
Richard Milford (London)*
Tom Newsome (Bristol)*
Eleanore Richardson (London)
Lucy Ridler (London)
Alex Ryan (Yorkshire)*
Charlotte Towerton (London)
Reiss Walker (London)
Rowan White (London)* [VC]
Freya Wilde (Yorkshire)*

Great Britain Mixed Seniors
Head Coach: Andrew Davis
Assistant Coach: Jay Beare
Team Manager: Mark Pett-Ridge
International Tag Series Squad:

Jay Beare (London)
Samantha Carter-Allison (London)
Jackson Dalton (London)
Mike Dowd (London)*
Gill du Toit (London)
Laura Elliott (Yorkshire)
Ronan Farrell (London)
Sarah Jackson (London)
Sarah Jones (London)
Hafa Karim (Yorkshire)
Billy Lyons (London)
Steven Macdermott (London)
Sian McGuinness (Manchester)*
Iain Naylor (London)
Ben Picknett (London) [C]
Jane Pilgrim (London)*
Amanda Scarfo (London) [VC]
Alexandra Sims (Bristol)*
Neill Tannock (London)
Cheryl Woodman (Yorkshire)

Great Britain Women’s Open
Head Coach: David Shipley
Assistant Coach: Cat Lindsay / Ant Merrett
Team Manager: Noel Cuddy
International Tag Series Squad:

Leah Alexander (London)
Anne Broadley (London)
Izzy Bruton (Thames Valley)*
Ashley Carson (London)
Florrie Greenhill (Bristol)
Emily Gulvin (London)*
Eleanor Hawketts (London)
Emma Jackson (London)*
Ellie Jones (London)*
Alice Kendle (London)
Hannah Kent (London)*
Rachel Livingston (Yorkshire)
Sally Mantell (London)
Ellen McGuinness (London)
Kate Merson (London)*
Laura Riches (Manchester)*
Lucy Saunders (London)
Anita Snowdon (London) [VC]
Anna Tolmarsh (London)*
Hannah Wilson (London) [C]

Great Britain Women’s Seniors
Head Coach: Mark Roughsedge
Assistant Coach: Kirsty Clarke / Ant Merrett
Team Manager: Noel Cuddy
International Tag Series Squad:

Samantha Bedford (London) [VC]
Hanna Breckons (London)*
Nikki Briant (London)
Kirsty Clarke (London)
Steffy Geertsen (London)
Naomi Hampton (London)
Caroline Henzell (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)*
Sophia Prout (London)
Phoebe Robins (London) [C]
Katie Sage (London)
Alice Tozzi (London)
Frances Wehrwein (London)

Great Britain Men’s Open
Head Coach: James Baron
Assistant Coach: Tom Stone
Team Manager: Richard Seedhouse
International Tag Series Squad:

James Baron (London)
Stephen Barry (London)
George Fox-Edwards (London)
Ollie Greenhill (Bristol) [C]
Andrew Harkins (Yorkshire)
Dean Irvine (London)
Jake Jones (London)
Rex Jude (London)
Elliot McDermott (London)
George Montagu (London)
Dante O’Reilly (London)
Ciarán Poynter (London)
Joshua Roberts (London)
Tom Stone (London)
Myles Turner (London)
Daniel Waters (Yorkshire)*
Nick Wilkes (London) [VC]
Harry Young (London)

Great Britain Men’s 30s
Head Coach: Kim Parkinson
Assistant Coach: Ben Smith
Team Manager: Richard Seedhouse
International Tag Series Squad:

Peter Ainsley (London)
Johnny Berrill (London)
Mike Bloom (London)
Rob Chance (Yorkshire)*
James Gibson (London)
Olly Hampson (London)
Rizwaan Hanid (London)
Tom Higgs (London)
Kenny Hunt (London)
Steve Leary (London)
Daniel McAviney (London)*
Adam Morrison (London) [C]
Robert Murch (London) [VC]
Kyle Nish (London)
Liam O’Keeffe (London)
Benjamin Payne (London)
Rob Poole (London)
Kirby Rona-Roper (London)
Nick Stanworth (London)
David Wilkinson (Yorkshire)

Great Britain Men’s 40s
Head Coach: Alex Sadgrove
Assistant Coach: Pete Murray
Team Manager: Richard Seedhouse
International Tag Series Squad:

Mark Batty (London)
Mark Coady (London)*
Andrew Davis (London)
David Dunk (London)*
Richard Fairclough (London)*
Nathan Goodfellow (London)*
James Gross (London)*
Chris Hoult (London)*
Seamus McNulty (London)*
Peter Murray (London)
Oliver O’Mahony (London)*
Sam Palmer (Bristol)
Kimbo Parkinson (London)
Roger Rebelo (Thames Valley)*
Alex Sadgrove (London)
David Shipley (London)
Carl Smith (Yorkshire)*
Jonty Venter (London)*
Michael Vinluan (Thames Valley)*
Shay Wilson (London)*

2022 Training Squad:
Andrea Abramo (London)*
Peter Adams (Thames Valley)*
Dylan Barlow (Wigan)*
Marc Day (Coventry)*
Martin Gambles (Wigan)*
Ryan Gould (London)*
Kevin Ingham (Yorkshire)*
Andrew Inglis (London)*
Rhys Jones (London)*
Chris Mansfield (London)
Gary Phibbs (London)*
Tim Probert (London)*
Chris Prout (London)
Jack Williams (London)*
Rob Young (London)

*Denotes uncapped player