2011 Primary Schools Tag Rugby Report
[Written by Ian Henderson] Research has found that participating in sports can have a healthy developmental impact on young children. These activities can promote co-operative play, teamwork and good sportsmanship.
Tag Rugby, also known in the USA as flag rugby league or simply flag rugby, is a non-contact team game in which each player wears a belt that has two velcro tags attached to it. The mode of play is has many similarities to touch rugby.
Attacking players attempt to dodge, evade and pass a rugby ball while defenders attempt to prevent them scoring by “tagging” – pulling a velcro attached tag from the ball carrier, rather than a full contact tackle. Tag rugby is used in development and training by the rugby union community as a development game / training alternative. Tag Rugby has the highest participation levels in Ireland and Australia.
The Annual Bermuda Schools Sports Federation Primary School Tag Rugby Tournament was held on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at Shelly Bay with seven schools and 16 teams including 6 girls teams participating on a beautiful sunny day.
This was an excellent turnout for this popular tournament and Manny Faria the organizer noted it was the best turnout to date. The schools represented were Saltus, East End, Somersfield, St. David’s, Purvis, St. George’s Prep., and Francis Patton.
The children really seemed to be enjoying the game and playing with their friends and for the pride of their schools. Many of the schools have recently only started their rugby programs and full credit to their coaches and the players for the excellent performances.
Francis Patton One won the Girls Division Francis Patton One finished on top with a record of three wins and one tie, Saltus One and Saltus Two finished tied for second with a record of 2 wins a tie and a loss.
Saltus won the Boys B Division. Saltus defeated St. David’s Primary 8 – 2 in one Semi-Final, while St. George’s Prep defeated Francis Patton 3 – 2 in the other.
The final was a well fought battle with the teams ending 2 – 2 after regulation time. Saltus got tries from Kaden Hopkins and Sam Fox, while St. George’s got their tries from Finn Smith and Giovanni Debraga. The game was finally settled after Daniel Exell broke free for Saltus and scored the winner after a lengthy Sudden Death period.
Saltus also won the A Division after defeating East End Primary 10 – 3 in the final. The score was 3 – 3 at the half, but Saltus scored 7 unanswered second half tries to win. East End got tries from Jerriko Gibbons, Shani Simmons and Blaiz Hall, while Saltus were led with four tries from San-tze Burgess, two apiece from Liam Page and Brandon O’Connor and single scores from Neil Figureido and Matteo Dill. Saltus had defeated Purvis 4 – 2 in their Semi-Final match while East End needed a Sudden Death period to defeat Francis Patton 3 – 2 in the other.
Special thanks to all the teachers who trained their teams for the tournament and the parents who came out to watch the tournament. Well done to Manny Faria and his team in organizing a very popular event. There was a lot of talented players who don’t don’t play in the Bermuda Rugby Program and the hope is that many of the kids move onto to develop their rugby skills in the various BRFU programs which currently run on Sundays at Saltus at 11am. See the following website for further details http://bermudarfu.com/MiniRugby.aspx.
