D.T.F Crowned 2011 GOAL London Tag Rugby Champions!

D.T.F who was representing the Tooting Bec Common Tag Rugby competition defeated the Gladstone Park early and late summer champions, Speights in the final of the London Tag Rugby Championships on Saturday, 20 August to claim the “Best Team in London” title for 2011.

The tournament which consisted of 12 champion teams representing Finsbury Park, Gladstone Park, Highbury, Rotherhithe, Southwark Park, Tooting Bec Common and Wandsworth Tag Rugby competitions produced some outstanding displays of Tag Rugby.

Speights looked like the early favourites for the competition with pool stage victories over D.T.F, HepTagonal, I Couldn’t Give 2 Locks andTag Me If You Can. Speights endedTag Me If You Can’s unbeaten run which stood at 31 matches.

D.T.F bounced back after there pool stage loss to Speights to produce a superb finals performance with a convincing 12-5 victory. D.T.F’s Elle Baltra was awarded, “Player of the Final”. HepTagonal's, Stephen Barry was awarded, “Player of the Tournament”.

Part of the proceeds from the 2011 GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships will go towards GOAL’s response to the Horn of Africa drought and famine crisis. GOAL is an international humanitarian agency dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poorest of the poor.

A raffle was also conducted on the day to raise funds for GOAL with a weekend away to Brighton as the winning prize. A credit to the generosity of the London Tag Rugby community as the raffle sold out with the much needed funds raised going towards assisting to feed the many starving people in Somalia.

2011 GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships - Champions League

1. Speights 5 def Tag Me If You Can 1
2. D.T.F 2 def M.I.N.E 0
3. HepTagonal 6 def I Couldn't Give Two Locks 2
4. Tag Me If You Can 3 def HepTagonal 2
5. Speights 4 def D.T.F 3
6. I Could't Give Two Locks 3 def M.I.N.E 0
7. Speights 5 def HepTagonal 2
8. D.T.F 3 def I Couldn't Give Two Locks 0
9. Tag Me If You Can 6 def M.I.N.E 0
10. HepTagonal 5 def M.I.N.E 3
11. Speights 4 def I Couldn't Give Two Locks 1
12. D.T.F 4 def Tag Me If You Can 1
13. M.I.N.E 2 def Speights 0
14. I Couldn't Give Two Locks 0 drew with Tag Me If You Can 0
15. D.T.F 4 def HepTagonal 1

5th Place Playoff
I Couldn't Give Two Locks 3 def M.I.N.E 1

3rd Place Playoff
HepTagonal 9 def Tag Me If You Can 0

Final
D.T.F 12 def Speights 5

2011 GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships - Social Division

1. Chris Cross 3 def We Burn A Few Beers 2
2. Trip & Chase 4 drew with God Loves A Tagger 4
3. Ref's Fault 6 def Tagmanian Devils 0
4. Chris Cross 4 def Ref's Fault 3
5. God Loves A Tagger 6 def We Burn A Few Beers 1
6. Trip & Chase 9 def Tagmanian Devils 4
7. We Burn A Few Beers 5 def Ref's Fault 2
8. God Loves A Tagger 8 def Tagmanian Devils 3
9. Trip & Chase 6 def Chris Cross 1
10. Trip & Chase 6 def Ref's Fault 0
11. We Burn A Few Beers 4 def Tagmanian Devils 2
12. God Loves A Tagger 2 def Chris Cross 1
13. Trip & Chase 5 def We Burn A Few Beers 3
14. Tagmanian Devils 2 drew with Chris Cross 2
15. God Loves A Tagger 4 def Ref's Fault 2

5th Place Playoff
Ref's Fault 7 def Tagmanian Devils 0

3rd Place Playoff
We Burn A Few Beers 4 def Chris Cross 1

Final
Trip & Chase 5 def God Loves A Tagger 4

2011 GOAL London Tag Rugby Championship Awards

Champions League Winners: D.T.F (the team receive tickets to the Aviva Premiership match between London Irish Vs Worcester at Madejski Stadium, 9 Oct)
Player of the Tournament (Champions League): Stephen Barry (HepTagonal)
Player of the Final (Champions League): Elle Baltra (D.T.F)
Social Division Winners: Trip & Chase (the team receive tickets to the Aviva Premiership match between London Irish Vs Worcester at Madejski Stadium, 9 Oct)
Player of the Tournament (Social Division): Mike Pan (Trip & Chase)
Player of the Final (Social Division): James Leggett (Trip & Chase)
Best Dressed Team: HepTagonal (the team all receive tickets to the Try Tag Rugby 2nd Birthday Party Thames River Cruise, 9 Sept)

For more information about our charity partner, GOAL, click here. If you would like to make a donation towards GOAL’s response to the Horn of Africa drought and famine crisis visit GOAL's Just Giving page.

The team at Try Tag Rugby would like to thank the following sponsors, partners and referees for assisting to make the day as successful as it was: Ben Durston, Grant Maskell, Thomas Ralph, Australian Times, GOAL UK, Immigration Studio, London Irish Rugby Union club, The Church, The RFL - London & the South, UK Sports Club & Vibe Teaching.




2011 GOAL London Tag Rugby Championship Details

Try Tag Rugby is proud to announce details for the 2011 GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships. The event being held on August 20^th, aims to bring together The UK and Ireland’s finest Tag Rugby teams for some fierce competition on the pitch and a great party off the pitch.

In 2011 the Championships will run in two divisions:

-          Champions League – This division will see the best mixed teams from across London, The UK and Ireland come together to fight for the GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships ultimate prize. Entry is only open to teams that have played in a Try Tag Rugby Grand Final throughout 2011. Teams from Ireland and throughout the UK are also welcome to apply for this division, provided you can show evidence of similar achievements throughout 2011.

-          The Social Division – Open to mixed teams of varying standards from London, The UK, Ireland & Europe. You can also enter this division as an individual, and we will place you in a team. A prize will be awarded for the team which shows up in the loudest team shirts!

All teams will get around 90 minutes of game time.The event will be held at Osterley in West London. There will be changing rooms, food stalls and a bar on site, meaning plenty of opportunity for socialising with your team mates and opposition.  The  after party will run until 11:30pm and all players will receive free entry into The Church night club on Sunday August 21st. The UK Sports Club’s Pre-Season Cup competition will be held parallel to the 2011 GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships. This event will feature 20 Netball teams, 100 Touch Rugby teams and 30 Rugby Union Clubs creating a huge festival atmosphere.

The GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships aims to raise money for our charity partners GOAL for their Emergency Appeal in the Horn of Africa. GOAL is an international humanitarian agency dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poorest of the poor. They are a non-denominational, non-governmental and non-political organisation. For more information on GOAL, click here.

The full details are as follows:

If you would like to register a new team or as a new player, please proceed to the respective team registration section or individual registration section of the website to register your interest. If you are a team manager of a team which has played in a Try Tag Rugby league or event before, please log into your profile in the top right corner of the website (or email us on info@trytagrugby.com) to enter your team in this event. If you are an existing registered player who wishes to enter this event as an individual please click here or email us to be entered in a team. All positions will be reserved by making the full registration payment of £150 for teams or £17 for individuals. The registration deadline is close of business Monday, August 15^th.

The inaugural GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships was won by Ref's Fault, the 2010 Gladstone Park early & late summer champions. With the number of teams playing week to week Tag Rugby in London doubling from 44 last summer to 89 in 2011, the 2011 GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships looks set to be a great event! If you would like further information on this event please call or email Alistair Davis on 07780 880 893 or alistairdavis@trytagrugby.com.

Try Tag Rugby is supporting their chosen charity GOAL with their Emergency Appeal in the Horn of Africa.

The UN has declared a famine in parts of Somalia. Millions of people there, and across the Horn of Africa, continue to face starvation.

GOAL has allocated €500,000 from their emergency funds to support efforts to alleviate the current suffering.

A GOAL team is responding to the deteriorating situation in southern and eastern parts of Ethiopia and is assisting refugees crossing the border from Somalia. They have provided clean water to 140,000 people and food aid to thousands of particularly vulnerable malnourished refugee women, and children under five years of age, in the Somali region of the country. They are continuing to procure food aid, medicines and hygiene materials for immediate distribution.

GOAL’s drought response programmes in Ethiopia have been in progress since January 2011, supplying clean water, food aid and nutritional treatment for malnourished children.

GOAL is also assisting in the relief operation in Kenya, where they are providing emergency shelter and arranging for the distribution of hygiene kits to hundreds of families at the Dadaab refugee camp in the east of the country.

However, the greatest concentration of people in need is in Somalia and GOAL is doing everything in its power to convince the international community to open and maintain safe humanitarian corridors for the delivery of aid to those desperately in need of assistance.

If you would like to support GOAL's emergency response to the drought, please visit GOAL’s Just Giving page.

GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships 2010

Gladstone Park early & late summer champions, Ref's Fault have continued there winning ways by taking out the inaugural GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships on the 29th of August.

Ref's Fault recorded some impressive victories with a 10-2 defeat of Price Tag, 9-1 defeat of Finished Tagging, 12-3 victory over the North London Rampant Rabbitohs & an 11-3 win over the Mighty Randoms in the pool stages.

Finished Tagging gave Ref's Fault a scare in the first half of the final going into the half-time break at 4-4. Ref's Fault showed their class and ran away with the 2010 GOAL London Tag Rugby Championship trophy with an 8-4 triumph.

The Inaugural GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships had it all with sunshine, windy conditions and downpours all in the same day.

Each participant was treated to a Hog Roast and Evian water for lunch & a Chilli Con Carne dish for dinner at the Crown Hotel, Cricklewood as part of the entry fee. The after party was held at the Crown Hotel where a live band entertained the crowd into the early hours of the morning.

Ref's Fault were awarded 15 free tickets to any London Irish Rugby Union match of there choice as well as the GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships Trophy.

Ben Farlow from Ref's Fault was awarded, "Player of the Tournament" and received a free dinner for 4 people at Waxy O'Connors, London.

The event helped raise money for our charity partners GOAL. GOAL is an international humanitarian agency dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poorest of the poor. They are a non-denominational, non-governmental and non-political organisation. Money raised went towards funding the construction of basic houses for people living with HIV / AIDS in Uganda. For more information on GOAL, click here.

Try Tag Rugby CEO, Phillip Browne added, "The inaugural GOAL London Tag Rugby Championships was a big success! I believe this event will grow each year. The feedback from all the participants was really positive and we will ensure that the 2011 Championships will be even better"

"The team at Try Tag Rugby would especially like to thank Tamara Gervasoni & Helen Hynes from GOAL UK for all your efforts that went into the event".

Try Tag Rugby would also like to thank all the sponsors and partners who helped make the event a success. They are London Irish Rugby Union Club, The Irish Times International Edition, The Crown - Cricklewood, Waxy O'Connors & the RFL.