The 2022 British & Irish Cup takes place this coming weekend (3rd/4th September) at West Park Leeds RUFC as Great Britain and Ireland once again go head to head in the annual tournament.
Seven teams will take the field from each country with the Men’s 40s teams playing an exhibition series in their inaugural year. The country that wins the most categories out of the eligible six (Mixed Open, Mixed Seniors, Women’s Open, Women’s Seniors, Men’s Open, Men’s 30s) will be declared the 2022 British & Irish Cup champions.
Each category is contested over five test matches, two on Saturday and three on Sunday. With this year’s tournament almost too close to call there is the distinct possibility of the winner ultimately declared on total matches won as part of the tiebreaker rules.
As hosts Great Britain Tag Rugby will for the first time play the tournament in Leeds as the mission to grow Try Tag Rugby the UK gathers momentum. The Great Britain sides have traditionally been made up predominantly of London based players but the recent development of Try Tag Rugby regions regions around the country has opened pathways for regional players to earn their chance to wear the national jersey.
Great Britain Programme Director, Will Shepherd, said: “Playing this wonderful tournament in Yorkshire for the first time allows us to open the sport we love to an even wider audience. There can be no better showcase for the game than Great Britain regaining the Cup through breathtaking performances across all of our sides.â€
Spectators are welcome to come and lend their support on both days, and those attending will get to see some top level Try Tag Rugby action. Entry is free, there is an onsite bar (open from midday) with food options available, and limited free parking is available on site.
If you can’t attend in person, the tournament’s main pitch will be live streamed across Try Tag Rugby’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, with Sunday’s action being hosted on Sunday’s matches being hosted on Our League where this year’s winners will be crowned!
A full schedule of the fixtures, including which games will be live streamed, can be found here.
HISTORY OF THE CUP
The British & Irish Cup is the oldest international tag tournament to take place in the northern hemisphere. Hosted alternately by the two countries since 2013, Ireland have won six times with Great Britain achieving their sole victory the last time they played on home soil in 2019. (The tournament wasn’t played in 2015 or 2020). Full results from the previous seven events can be found here.
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