The ‘Sunny South East’ lived up to its name once again on Saturday 8th August hosting TagFest Brighton, which took place at Brighton Rugby Club on Waterhall Road.

The one-day social tournament welcomed nearly 400 Taggers across 32 teams ‘Back to the 80’s’ for a fun-filled day of Tag Rugby across four divisions. Along with the chance to win the perpetual ‘Tuaca Jug’, teams also had the chance to compete for prizes such as Spirit of Tag for those bringing the best vibes to the event. 

As always, there was one main rule of the day (outside of the TTR Rulebook) and that was to bring good vibes only!

Alongside our local Brighton & Hove teams, we welcomed travelling teams from Reading, Oxford, Salford, London and Coventry, and even one team from the new TTR region Bournemouth who were aptly named ‘Bourne to Tag’.

After the promise of some rain and overcast relief from the recent heatwaves, the sun shone down on our players and the factor 50 was flowing. The highlight of the day for many was the lunchtime half-time show, an exhilarating, crowd-pleasing, entertaining goose step challenge led by Hitch (Hideaki Nara) which we have trademarked as B.G.G. Brighton’s Got Goosey! The finalists chosen at lunch were invited to the grand final, which took place immediately after the main Cup Final, in front of the big crowd. It was the perfect end to an already epic tournament.

The after-party was a huge success held at Oculist with players still standing (just about) when the pre-planned West Life banger You Raise Me Up was blasted to end the night at 2:30am. We hope the hangovers were aided somewhat by the Nashi Pear Juice which promises that you won’t lose tomorrow…however we are not sure there is anything to cure the lull after such an amazing event finishes!

Tag Rugby
In the morning phase, teams competed in pools before moving into Cup, Plate, Bowl and Shield divisions based on the results. Teams then played quarter finals, semi finals and finals or placing games to determine the final standings (listed below). We were very proud to see some of our local Brighton teams making it into the finals with one of our local Baa Baa’s teams lifting the Plate. The second ever Brighton team to win a final at TagFest.

We also want to shout out Tag Refest who were the highest placed local Brighton & Hove team who came 5th overall out of 32 teams. Slowly slowly, catchy Tuaca, next year’s your year!

The Tuaca Jug
Following a late team drop-out, a last-minute call went out for a replacement side the week before the tournament, and Reading-based team TV Taggers stepped up to take the place. Despite the late entry, they went unbeaten throughout the day. Their closest game came against the 2025 runners-up Brighton Tag Hoors in the semi-finals, where they secured a narrow 2–1 victory to book their place in the Cup Final.

They carried that momentum all the way through to the final, becoming the third team to lift The Tuaca Jug. With London teams ‘Tortoises’ and ‘Hydros’ having claimed the previous two titles, and their names proudly engraved on the jug, it was time for this regional side from Reading to make their mark, lifting the jug and drinking its sweet, sun-scorched Tuaca nectar.

At the presentations, captain Stacey Gould was invited to lead the ceremonial pouring of the Tuaca, straight from the jug into the mouths of her eager teammates. They shared the honour with the runners-up, Gulls Just Wanna Have Fun, another regional team who brought the most exceptional vibes all the way from TTR Salford.

The final standings across all divisions can be found at the end of this article with full results on Tournify.

Fancy Dress
The fancy dress theme for the event was ‘Back to the 80s’, and it certainly did not disappoint. During the presentations, the best-dressed entrants were invited to take part in the fancy dress parade, with the winner decided by a good old-fashioned crowd cheer. It came down to two finalists, with the holders of the 2024 AND 2025 titles Brighton Tag Hoors somehow (and, some say, controversially) losing out to the bright and nostalgic crowd favourites, Yabba Taggo Do. Decked out in full Flintstones attire, accompanied throughout the day by their enormous team mascot, Dino and visible wherever you stood in Waterhall, they were always going to be hard to beat.

There were so many amazing outfits across the day that our photographers had a field day capturing them all. We expect to see plenty more delights in the photos, including Lady Try, sporting Princess Diana facemasks and led by our very own French Brightonian, Lady Diane; Barbie & Ken, who apparently had no idea the other was attending (how embarrassing!); the neon-tastic Tagged for the Very First Time; Tagoon and the final survivor Neil, a play on Blue Lagoon; Mr T’s a plenty; Stranger Things characters; Mario & Luigi; tributes to WHAM complete with hand-painted ‘CHOOSE TAG’ T-shirts and our all-women team pretty in pink proving that girls just do wanna score tries.

The list goes on and on, with too many to mention, endless creativity, ridiculousness and fun costumes creating a glorious sea of colour across the dry brown fields of Waterhall.

Spirit of Tag Award
In true TTR Brighton fashion, we awarded a Spirit of Tag prize to the team who had the best attitude both on and off the field and who brought the best vibes. This is one of the most important awards, if not the best one, to win in our opinion, because it’s one that everyone has the potential and chance to pick up regardless of their Tagging ability. We truly believe that the people and teams who bring the best vibes are the ones who lead the way in creating the inclusive, supportive and social community & culture that our region prides itself on. Huge thanks and congratulations to Lady Try for scooping up the love heart-shaped trophy from one of the local charity shops which was lovingly hand-painted and sealed by the Tournament Director Steph.

Brighton’s Got Goosey!
We had a feeling this was going to be a highlight of the day, but even we weren’t prepared for the sheer energy, pzazz and goose-stepping glory that descended on Waterhall. We were privileged to welcome the King of Goose Stepping himself, Hitch (Hideaki Nara – Nara Hide Touch), to take on the role of chief adjudicator and lead a goose-stepping challenge during the lunch break.

Joined by Mikayla of TTR East London fame, the pair took on the very serious business of judging 30 hopefuls as they battled it out to perform the best goosey in Brighton. After an incredible audition round, the judges decided that one prize simply wasn’t enough. In true Britain’s Got Talent style, the final six were split into two categories ‘Entertaining/Comedic’ and ‘Serious/Technical’ setting up the ultimate goosey showdown after the finals, on the main pitch at 5:30pm.

The crowds went wild as the finalists took to the pitch, and there was even a surprise wildcard invite for player Alice Claronino. Hitch insisted she had to be there after her energy and charm during the audition round had made him smile so much. A total Simon Cowell-style power move from Hitch, if ever we saw one.

In the end, Kati Hall took the ‘Most Entertaining’ crown, seamlessly transitioning her goosey into an Irish jig, while Jacob Rouse from Reading claimed the ‘Serious/Technical’ title with his expert goose-stepping style. The winners walked away with the suitably silly prizes: a giant goose plush & tiny trophy for Jacob, and certified silly goose t-shirt for Kati (keep an eye out for this Brighton Tag!) and, of course, they took crowning glory of being officially recognised as Brighton’s finest goose-steppers.

We really hope Hitch comes back to do it all again next year. What a guy.

Referees
We had a fantastic referee line-up with Telle Brady, Luke Cowling, Gus Daniels, Ian Grey, Alyson & Lee Haggerty, Naomi Lee, Tracey Smith and Andy Taylor officiating some excellent Tag Rugby games. They all did a cracking job and there was high praise all round. Once again, very nearly achieved our target of having at least 50% female referees, and will endeavour to hit that again next year!

Congratulations to Lee Haggerty who picked up the ‘Referee of the Day’ award for an excellent day in the yellow shirt.

Photos
The photos from the day will be available on the TTR Brighton & Hove Facebook public page and shared via link to players.

Thank You
In addition to thanking all the players and referees, we would also like to extend our thanks to our event staff and partners for making the event such a success. A special thank you to Georgina, and all the team at Brighton Rugby Club for hosting us, to Trisha, Ronnie & Medic Mom of T&R Medix for their care and attention to our players, to our vendors Maya Catering, Passione Napoletana, to team Nashi Pear Juice for doing their best to prevent player hangovers, and to Great British Deck Chairs for creating lovely festival vibes.

Finally, a huge shout out to our photo & video team Laura Barrett, Bx Creative B and Wolf Pack Videos who captured the essence, joy, love and seaside spectacle that was TagFest Brighton 2026. You can book the team for your own events and parties via their instagram links above.

We hope everybody enjoyed the day and we already can’t wait for 2027!

TEAM WINNERS

The Tuaca Jug & Cup Winners
TV Taggers

Plate
The A-Team

Bowl
Taglor Swifts

Shield
Taguars on Tour

Fancy Dress Winners
Yabba Taggo Do

Brighton’s Got Goosey
Serious/Technical Winner: Jacob Rouse, TV Taggers
Entertainment/Comedic Winner: Kati Hall, Shoulder Tags

Spirit of Tag Award
Lady Try

This award is given to the team(s) who display the best spirit across the day, voted for by referees, staff and other teams in the tournament for bringing the best vibes both on and off the pitch. Here in Brighton this is regarded as one of the best awards a team can win!

INDIVIDUAL WINNERS

Cup Player of the Tournament
Lois Lau, Sun’s Out, Tags Out

Plate Player of the Tournament
Jack Williams, Cava RFC

Bowl Player of the Tournament
Leo Halsey, Taylor Swifts

Shield Player of the Tournament
Isabelle Hall, Bourne To Tag

Referee of the Day
Lee Haggerty

FINAL STANDINGS

Cup
1. TV Taggers Winners
2. Gulls Just Wanna Have Fun
3. Sun’s Out, Tags Out
4. Brighton Tag Hoors
5. Tag Refest
6. The Dummy Returns
7. Try-curious RFC🌈
8. Maddens on tour

Plate
9. The A-Team Winners
10. Tagged for the very first time
11. Cava RFC 🍾
12. Bad Flufferz
13. Wednesday United
14. Yabba Tagga Doo
15. Panic A Tagfest
16. Shoulder Tags

Bowl
17. Taglor Swifts Winners
18. TagTeamIt
19. Bourne to Tag
20. Tag Tag Goose on Tour
21. Girls Just Wanna Score Tries
22. Tagceptable in the 80’s
23. Stranger Tags
24. Gull Attack

Shield
25. Taguars on Tour Winners
26. Brighton Tagliatelle
27. Tuaca Hotshots
28. Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Tagquila
29. TourTagliatellie
30. Lady Try
31. TAGOON
32. Kiss My Queens