Newforge Taggers Tag RFC: News

The 2010/11 season was another busy and exciting season for the Taggers. During the close season we hosted two training sessions for Mencap summer schemes introducing some new players to tag rugby. On Saturday 8th November a team of U15s travelled to Twickenham to play the Hampshire Hurricanes as the curtain-raiser for the England Vs New Zealand match and act as the Guard of Honour as the teams made their way onto the pitch. What an experience for everybody involved. Thank you to Quay Cargo and UUJ for their support.

The RUCAA at its AGM granted Newforge Taggers players and coaches’ honorary membership of the Athletic Association. The committee and members of the club are indebted to and deeply appreciate the support of the Athletic Association and all of the staff from Newforge.

An U15 team of Taggers travelled to Dungannon RFC in October to help the newly formed club Stevenson Sharks. We were delighted to be invited to help them in their endeavours to set up the club and we wish them every success.
In December and January the club were granted charitable status and became non-branded members of Mencap. The club is privileged to have been granted charitable status and the club will reap the benefits of being associated with such a successful and prestigious organisation.

The Taggers have always been fortunate to have the support of so many volunteer coaches who freely give of their time. This season the club appointed volunteer co-ordinators who put in place a Volunteer Policy and application process for individuals who wish to coach at the club. In an attempt to recognise the efforts of our volunteers the IRFU (Ulster Branch) invited Newforge Taggers to take part in a pilot scheme with Volunteer Now. The scheme is called GoldMark and it enables the 16 – 24 year old coaches to accumulate the time in hours they have volunteered towards a GoldMark award. The process is working well and is a great incentive for the younger coaches. The club are indebted to the IRFU (Ulster Branch) and Volunteer Now for this opportunity.

Newforge Taggers hosted the 5th International Tag Festival for those with learning disabilities on Saturday 11th June. The Taggers hosted 26 teams from England; Wales the Republic of Ireland and local schools and clubs. The rugby was of a high standard and we were treated to a feast of music by the samba band A-Freek-A and were entertained by Streetwise Circus. The Festival was without doubt a success and thank you to Belfast City Council and Lloyds Charitable Trust who were the principle sponsors of the even.

There were various fundraising activities throughout the year and we are delighted to again have had the support of Marks and Spencer; Quay Cargo; Police Federation for Northern Ireland; Perenials RFC; Lloyds Charitable Trust; Belfast City Council; Freight Transport Association; Stephen Robb who ran the London marathon to fundraise for the Taggers and many other individuals and companies. This support enables the Taggers to maintain club standards and develop the concept of tag rugby for those with learning disabilities. Thank you to everybody for your support.

Please check out the latest videos, uploaded by our web master Mark Allen. (This appraoch is just a test to see how it works)

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The Taggers participated in the 4th Annual Tag Rugby Festival for those with learning disabilities which was hosted by the Swansea Gladiators in Swansea. It was a fantastic weekend with the Taggers doing themselves proud both on and off the pitch. A total of party of 80 travelled which included players parents and coaches and the players demonstrated just how much they have improved over the last four years. A total of four teams were entered involving 34 players three of our teams were unbeaten and the fourth was runner-up in their respective section. It was an extremely successful weekend and the Taggers look forward to hosting the event next season.

Various fund raising events were staged during the season. Firstly a big thank you to James Martin the club captain who used his 18th birthday as a fund raiser. James requested no presents but donations to the Taggers raising £800.00. Other events included dinner at the Bambou Restaurant Ballyclare and the Fashion Show in partnership with M&S at Newforge which was was a great event. Thank you to the staff from M&S and the Taggers and Ulster Rugby players who assisted with the modelling. The club also benefitted from generous donations from Neil Rea from WRS; Ricky Sinton; Jacqui Rock; Quay Cargo Services Ltd; 'Give Inc' and M&S. Thank you for your support and generousity. The Taggers were also successful with a funding application with the NI Housing Association.

The club has benefited greatly throughout the season from the support of our Patron Isaac Boss. Isaac attended virtually all of the training sessions during the season missing only but a few due to his work commitments with Ulster. Isaac freely gives of his time supporting all of the club functions. We have also been lucky to have had a number of other Ulster players attend sessions such as Chris Henry and Robbie Diack. We are very fortunate to have this close association with the Ulster team. All of the players and coaching staff are extremely indebted to Isaac for all of his work we wish him good luck at Leinster but are happy to say that he has asked to remain a Patron of the Taggers. The Taggers are also very fortunate to have for the first time a second Patron Chris Henry (Ulster and Ireland) has agreed to be a patron of the club albeit the Taggers are not knew to him as he attends training sessions on a regular basis.

It has been another remarkable year for the Taggers and we look forward to 2010/2011 Thank you, to both the players and coaches, for your continued enthusiasm and dedication.

The season started for the Taggers in early September with training at Newforge the enthusiasm as always in plain to see. The numbers of Taggers have grown to well in excess of forty and it is our firm belief that the numbers will continue to grow.

After the Halloween break the Taggers prepared for their half-time appearance at Ravenhill against Killard School during the Ulster Vs Leinster match. It was a great match and both teams received great support from the crowd. The over 15 group also gave a demonstration at halftime that was also well received by everybody at Ravenhill.
The next big date in the calendar was an appearance at the RDS in Dublin during the Leinster Vs Ulster match on Sunday 29th March 2009. The over 15 Taggers played St Vincents of Dublin it was a close affair and a fair result was a draw. The Taggers and coaching staff would like to acknowledge the hospitality afforded to everybody by Leinster  Rugby it was a great day and was enjoyed by everybody.
The International Tag Rugby Festival was hosted by the Guinness Premiership side Worcester Warriors over the weekend of the 15 – 17th May 2009. A party of 78 Taggers (Players family and coaches) travelled. The Taggers entered four teams: 2 in the over 15 competitions and another 2 in the under 15 groups. Three of the teams reached semi-finals but perhaps more importantly everybody enjoyed the experience. The tournament is to be hosted next year in Swansea by the Swansea Gladiators…..the Taggers have already started to make plans!!

On Wednesday 17th June the Taggers over 15s played touring side Holyport Manor School from England at Malone RFC Belfast. The Taggers gave a good account of themselves against what was a strong English team who ran out the eventual winners of the match. Refreshments and entertainment followed in the clubhouse in what was a good nights craic.

The club started preparing for the tournament early in the 2007/8 season with a halftime appearance during the Ulster Burgoin Heineken Cup match in January 2008. Whilst it was a very cold night it was a marvellous opportunity for the players to show their skills and savour the atmosphere at Ravenhill.

The 'Taggers' were also put through their paces at various other times during the season with the attendance of several members of the Ulster squad and former Irish Internationals at training sessions.

On Saturday 7th June 2008 the 'Taggers' played host to the International Tag Rugby Festival for those with learning disabilities at Newforge country Club. Fourteen teams participated five having travelled from England, one from Wales, one from the Republic of Ireland and the remainder comprising local schools and four teams from Newforge Taggers. There were two sections to the tournament an Over 15 and an Under 15. The senior tournament was won by Sandleford School from Coleraine who defeated Glencraig Curative school in the final with White Spire School from Reading England winning the Junior section defeating Killard House Special School in the final.

The tournament was a staggering success and even the weather was kind to us!

On 19th June the club took a squad of sixteen players to Basingstoke RFC to participate in a special needs tournament that was hosted by Great Oaks School, Southampton with the support of the Hampshire special needs rugby programme. It was a great trip the players had a ball and further developed their skills as it was the first tournament that they competed in without coaches on the field of play. It was also a wonderful opportunity for our players to develop friendships within the rugby fraternity.

The club has enjoyed a lot of success during it's first two seasons and this is in no small way due to the many coaches who freely give of their time every Sunday morning. Another key factor in the club's success is the part that our club Patron, Ulster player and former All Black, Paul Steinmetz. Paul regularly attends and assists at training sessions, his presence at the club means a lot to the players, their families and everyone involved in the club.

Our first year was a busy one. In April, we were joined for a training session by members of the Under 19 World Cup winning All Blacks squad. It was a wonderful experience for everybody involved and the visit has been a great source of inspiration for both our players and coaching staff.

In June 2007 the 'Taggers' travelled to Worcester to participate in a Tag tournament for those with learning disabilities. The 'Taggers' reached the final but were beaten by a Welsh team in what was a very close and keenly contested match. The tournament was a great day for rugby football. Following the tournament it was agreed by everybody involved the tournament should become an annual event. Newforge Taggers undertook to host the event in June 2008 at Newforge Country club, Belfast.