Upcoming Tag Events Across Dublin

Hi All,


Just to update everyone on some upcoming tag rugby events happening over the summer in Dublin.  


Bray Tag Fest - 23rd July


The event kicks off at 12.00 and continues throughout the day and into the evening. The main matches will be situated in Presentation College Bray, around the corner from the sea front, with the finals taking place on the actual sea front itself.

IRFU Charitable Trust - 16Th July


The IRFU Charitable Trust are running a fundraising Tag Day on 16th July at Old Belvedere RFC, Anglesea Road.


Garda Inter District Tag Tournament - 16Th July


The Garda Sports Club runs an annual inter district Tag Rugby competition. It takes place this year at the Garda grounds, Westmanstown, on Saturday July 16th commencing at 2pm. It has proved to be an enjoyable event in the past.


So why not come out and support your local tag tournament.  Have a fun filled day in the sun (hopefully).


All the best.


Good Tagging

Tagging For Charity

We all like to give a little back when we can and when we can do it and enjoy doing it then there should be no excuse.  I recently came across a news article about a charity tag rugby tournament which has being organised by the Niall Mellon Trust and co-ordinated by former Leinster hooker Bernard Jackman.  Why not read the article and find out more about this event. 


Click here to read the article - http://bit.ly/lnUBhC  


Enjoy

It's all about the tactics!

OK, I mentioned in previous posts that I would do a little on tactics and strategies.  Here is my first attempt at a tag rugby move. The move is called "shaggy ball", however, feel free to change the name of it. 

First have a look at the short animation that I've made showing the move in motion, then I will explain what is happening and how the move should work. 

This is the layout of the move. 

• Set up for this is a roll ball 5 meters out from opposition line, this move could be used in a final tag situation
• Preferably set the ball should begin from the centre of the field in front of opposition line or slightly left of centre.
• The scrum half passes to his/her left to player in first receiving position
• The player with the ball moves forward a meter before passing back inside to their right to the player in the second receiving position
• This player lines up the kick and plays the ball into the path of the on rushing player on the wing
• While the move is being done, the player on the wing should start from deep, perhaps the half way line.  About 15 meters away from the play and begin moving when the second player is about to receive the ball

For this play to be an ultimate success there are a few ingredients required.  The receiving player on the wing should be a female player, with pace and good hands failing this a male player with pace and good hands should take up the position.  The kicker should time the kick and try and place it either just into the path of the winger or into their hands.  After that, it is down to the opposition to react and if they don't then it will be a definite try.

I will work on a few more tactics and moves and post them here accordingly.  

Enjoy.

If the All-Blacks were confectionary

Hi All,

I was sent this delightful video of the legendary haka being performed by some unlikely candidates.  Enjoy.

Gingy Haka

Reasons to be fearful (New Zealand Rugby)

Reasons to be fearful - This post is from the ESPN Scrum website and outlines the fears of New Zealanders that their team may not succeed in yet another RWC finals.

I like rugby, but I don't like getting hurt. Let's try tag rugby!

If you don't want to get hurt, take up ballet.

I guess we'll start with the basic question, what is tag rugby?  Well, it is a sport, or to be more accurate, it is a pseudo sport based on rugby union.  Tag rugby follows the laws and game play of Rugby Union reasonably closely, the main exception being that no contact is permitted or encouraged.  The other differences to note is that there are no line outs or scrums in tag rugby.


So, where did it all begin?  According to http://www.trytagrugby.com the game originated in Australia sometime around 1992/1993 where it was used as a training aid by Rugby League teams.  The game quickly spread to New Zealand and other countries.  In Ireland, tag rugby is played during the summer and autumn months.  The season usually begins in May/June and runs until August/September.  


So, who plays tag rugby and is it an easy game to play if you've never played rugby before?  The simple answer is that everyone who wants to play tag rugby can play, the game is very simple; both to play and to understand.  Basically, if you can run forward and hold onto a rugby ball you're half way there.  There are various formats to allow players of all standards enjoy the game, such as mixed social leagues, mens leagues and senior mens leagues.  


How does one get involved with a team of like minded taggers?  I suppose teams are formed from three main sources.  A group of friends get together and form a team, a group of work colleagues get together and form a team or a team mates from a rugby club get together and form a team.  Don't worry, if your team is new to the game you won't be playing against team made up of AIL Division 1 rugby players. Yikes! That would be scary. No, instead your team will be assessed and placed in a league suitable to your skill level.


OK, so who organizes these tag rugby tournaments and leagues?  The main two bodies involved in the organizing of tag rugby tournaments and leagues are, the IRFU (Irish Rugby Football Union) and ITRA (Irish Tag Rugby Association), sometimes charities will organize a tag rugby tournament but they will be assisted by either organisation in the running of such an event.  Also, there are a number of beach tag tournaments on across the summer in various locations, more info can be found by clicking on the links below.


To find out more check out the following sites: www.irishrugby.ie/tagrugby and www.tagrugby.ie

So, there we go, a brief introduction to tag rugby.  Next time we will explore the basic laws of the game.

How to be a referee ninja!

This will be post #3 and will be a short enough post.  The title isn't suggesting that referee's carry ninja stars or use stealth to penalise unsuspecting tag rugby players!  No, this post is going to be about positioning on the field during a game if you are a tag rugby referee.  I must mention the catalyst for this post.  I was having a lucazade this evening with one of the teams that I had officiated over this evening and in the course of conversation the subject of where the referee should stand came up.  I was warned not to mention names, so I won't but the person I was talking to plays for a tag team called Dublin Welsh.  They won 27 - 7 by the way. 

On to the subject at hand.  I will give you my interpretation of where best to position yourself on the field when refereeing the game. 

For the kick off or restart, I stand on the 10 meter line facing the attacking team kicker.  I do this for two reasons; the first is to give the kicker an idea of where the 10 meter line is and therefore give him/her a marker to aim for so the ball will travel at least 10 meters.  Just to note, not all pitches are marked out with white lines to indicate where the 10 meter, 5 meter, try line and half way lines are, they are only marked by flags or cones along the sideline.

The second reason is to give the receiving team a line so they know how far to stand from the kick off. Simple.

During a game, when the ball is in play I try to stand either in line or behind the defending team.  The reason for this is to make sure that I am not going to get in the way of a pass or accidentally impede a player either defending or attacking.  This does mean it can be harder to spot forward passes but it is better that than be the reason a pass doesn't make it to an attacker who would be then through for a try, you don't want to incur that kind of wrath.

Here is a few examples of what can happen when you get your positioning slightly off.  In one game I was standing in the ground between the attacking team and the defending team.  An attacking player came running along the line towards where I was standing, meanwhile a defending player was tracking across to make the tag.  Invariably I ended up getting between the defender and the attacker.  What did I do; well I had to call back play and award a roll ball to the attacking team at the previous tag count.  This disrupts the flow of the game and aggravates the players.  Another time, I was standing in the line of the attacking team and a pass was made.  The ball struck me on the arm and went to ground.  Again, I had to call back play and restart from the previous tag. 

To finish, here is a funny anecdote from a game I was watching last year.  The referee had penalised a player for some infringement.  The player in question remonstrated with the referee and may have used foul or offensive language.  The referee had no option and had to sin bin the player for 5 minutes.  As the player was leaving the field he picked up the ball and turned to face the referee who was approx. 10 foot away from him.  He kicked the ball towards the referee and in my opinion he was just giving the ball back to her; but, unfortunately for him he had too much adrenaline and the ball struck the referee forcefully on the side of the head.  The referee interpreted this as an act of further defiance and produced a red card and showed it to a now incredulous looking player.  All he could do was walk off completely bemused.  It was not too bad as the red he received was really a second yellow and he wouldn't have suffered a major sanction be placed upon him.

Enjoy tag and remember, the tag referee ninja is always watching. 

The law is not fair; it is just.

The title for this post comes from a lecturer that I had in college, she was a retired solicitor and was teaching us a module on law.  After she would tell us about some old case we would always bemoan that the judgement wasn't fair and her reply was always "The law is not fair; it is just". 


All sports have rules or so players and coaches would say. Referees on the other hand refer to these guidelines as the laws of the game. Tag rugby is no different. There are quite a few laws associated with tag rugby. Now, don't worry I don't intend on listing off every single last one. If you are looking for a definitive run down on the laws of the game, you can find them here http://www.irishrugby.ie/tagrugby/usefulinfo/index.php for IRFU tag laws and here http://www.tagrugby.ie/Basic-Rules-of-Tag-Rugby.html for ITRA tag rugby laws.  There are a few small differences between the IRFU laws and the ITRA laws but small enough that it would be easy to adapt to playing both codes without much adjustment being required. 


Aside from the actual laws of the game, the game itself has a simple philosophy surrounding it.  This is quite simply enjoyment, everyone should enjoy themselves and play for the fun and social aspects to the game.  The simplest way that this will happen is when everyone comes to the game in the spirit of participation.  That's all well and good you might say, but what if you are a competitive person or the team you play on is of a high skill level and expectation?  If this is the case then that is fine too, because you will find that the players and teams you will be playing against are of the same mindset.  But for 80% of players and teams, it is all about getting out for a few hours during the week and having a few drinks after the game with your friends. 


The venues are run in such a way that a carnival atmosphere is created and everyone takes a more relaxed approach to the whole event, even the referee's, believe it or not!  Ah yes, the referee, the men and quite often the women in the middle.  Tag rugby referee's can come from a few different backgrounds.  Some are 15-a-side rugby union referee's, some are former players and only referee tag rugby and others have no previous rugby knowledge but want to start refereeing rugby.  


I myself referee tag rugby and have done so now for the past three seasons, I was a player in my youth and do love watching rugby, so for me it is an enjoyable experience.  I have only refereed IRFU tag rugby matches and therefore I can only speak about the IRFU's approach to the sport.  The main message that is given by the IRFU to tag rugby referee's is to let the game flow and try to ensure that both teams enjoy the game.  


Basically, I and other tag rugby referee's take a holistic approach to refereeing the games. Having said that, the game has laws and those laws have to be enforced as well as adhered to.  So, without further ado, here is the shorthand version of five laws that are most commonly seen.  I will be explaining the reason for the law, not the actual law itself, for this please go to the websites listed further up this post.

1. Offside - This law applies to both attackers and defenders.  The purpose of the law is to primarily allow the attacking team space.  It also reduces the chances of contact occurring and keeps the game fluid.  The referee enforces this law by asking the defending team to remain seven meters back from the attacking team.
2. Contact - Contact between players is strictly prohibited.  The reason for this is simple, to reduce the chances of injury to players, especially if there are female players on the field.  To avoid contact just remember that the defender must mark the space he/she thinks an attacker will run into and the attacker must attack the space between defenders.  This law is strictly enforced by referee's.  That is not to say that injuries can occur. For example,in a game I refereed recently one of the players had to leave the field because he pulled his hamstring.  This happens so warming up correctly is always advisable.
3. Tagging - Specifically early or late tagging.  This is when a defender tags his/her opponent either before they receive the ball or after the ball has left their hands.  The reason this law is enforced is because by doing either of the above the defender is being cynical.  The attacker, if tagged early or late will have an advantage but they will have to retrieve their tag and it can also lead to confusion whereby they may stop running momentarily giving the defending team a slight advantage.  Referee's will use their discretion when it comes to tagging, if the ball and tag occur together, the referee will usually call "play on", "ball away".  Otherwise advantage will be called and a penalty may arise or a yellow card if the offense is repeated.
4. Roll ball - When a roll ball occurs there are three people involved; the person who was tagged, the defender (marker) and the scrum half.  There are a few laws happening here.  First the marker must not encroach upon the scrum half until they have played the ball, either passed it or picked it up and run with it. The reasons for this are many.  For starters it can lead to an accidental collision and possible injury, secondly it can cause irritation to the team with the ball which could manifest itself in tempers becoming frayed and thirdly the mechanics of such an action means that the marker is offside.  From the defenders point of view, they are not allowed to block the marker from moving in on the scrum half, once the scrum half has played the ball.  This is again two fold, potential collision scenario and frustrating the opposition (gamesmanship).  Finally, the scrum half (the person playing the ball), they must play the ball within 3-5 seconds of the ball being placed back to them. Not doing so will result in a penalty mainly because it is seen as time wasting and could also be used as a form of gamesmanship.  So, marker stay until the scrum half either passes, runs or is standing upright with ball in hand.  Defender, don't impede the marker and scrum half play the ball quickly after the rolling back of the ball has occurred. 
5. Kicking - Kicking the ball is allowed, but only out of hand and once the ball doesn't go above shoulder height (mixed games).  If the ball is loose on the ground, no player is allowed to put their foot to the ball and kick it.  The reason again is down to safety and avoiding collisions or contact.  If the ball is kicked too high, then players are watching the ball and not each other, this is where a collision can occur.  If the ball is on the ground, the following may occur; a player may be in the act of picking the ball up while another player is in the act of striking the ball with their foot.  This could end up in one player being kicked in the face, arm, hand or body and may end up in an injury.  

Like I said, for the full outline of all the laws, go to the sites mentioned above.  Most of the time, all players and referee's need to apply is some common sense.  But as a friend of mine used to say, "Common sense ain't that common!".

Thanks for reading this post.  Next time I might go into some tactics and strategies that can be applied by tag rugby teams during a game.