Tag Rugby World Cup
Limerick has been announced as the first northern hemisphere host of the Tag World Cup.
A joint bid, led by the University of Limerick (UL) Conference and Sports Campus and the Irish Tag Rugby Association - supported by Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau, Failté Ireland and Limerick City and County Council - was successful in winning the event for Limerick, which will see over 3,000 tag rugby players from well over 20 countries and their entourage travel to the Treaty City in August 2021.
The event is expected to deliver a minimum €5m boost for the Limerick economy and 20,000 bed nights. It is held across four days but, with many participants travelling from the southern hemisphere, teams are expected to travel to Ireland for up to three weeks in advance of the competition.
The bid involved a year-long process that was initiated after two of the Tag Rugby Ireland management team, Barry Keary and Shane Landers, approached the UL Conference and Sports Campus team with the idea.
A partnership involving the three local entities, supported by Failté Ireland, put together a detailed bid and beat off stiff opposition, after organisers decided to take the event out of the southern hemisphere for the first time. Tag rugby has grown enormously in popularity over the past decade, particularly in Australia and New Zealand but also in Ireland and Great Britain.
The three previous International Tag Federation World Cups were held in New Zealand (2012) and Australia (2015, 2018)
decnidedd but organisers to take the next edition to the northern hemisphere and have been won over by the Limerick bid.
Welcoming the announcement, Limerick Mayor James Collins said that it was a victory for Limerick and recognition of its status as a city of great hospitality and great facilities.
“We all know Limerick’s proud sporting heritage, not least in rugby. Tag rugby has become very popular in Limerick over recent years, not least as a result of the hugely successful Pig ‘n’ Porter festival. The Tag World Cup is, however, a very serious and competitive event and it’s great that not alone was the rugby DNA and hospitality and warmth right for the organisers to host it here, but also that we had the facilities at UL.
“We have an excellent track record in terms of hosting major events here, the 2013 Rugby League World Cup among them. Hosting this event is further proof that Limerick is ripe for such events. We congratulate all involved in the successful bid and will now set about making sure that Limerick will deliver an experience for players and supporters alike that will raise the bar again for the tournament.” Simon Bewley, Irish Tag Rugby Association said: “The Irish Tag Rugby Association are delighted to be chosen as the host nation for the 2021 Tag World Cup.
As the founders on Tag in Ireland, we are celebrating 20 years of running national and international Tag events. We look forward to partnering with University of Limerick and the ITF to host and run the biggest and most exciting International Tag event in Europe.”
David Mahedy, Director, Sport & Recreation University of Limerick said: “We are extremely excited at the prospect of hosting this incredible competition at the University of Limerick and work has already begun to make this a World Cup to remember for every player and supporter that makes Limerick their home for the duration of the Championship.”
Tag Rugby
Limerick is one of Ireland’s top centres for tag rugby, with the annual Pig ‘n’ Porter festival one of the biggest annual in the country, drawing teams in recent years from as far afield as Australia. Ireland has also improved its ranking in the game over recent years, winning gold in the Men’s Over-50s and Silver in Women
27s at the last Tag World Cup.
The competition will involve various age categories in mens, womens and mixed. Teams have to be registered through their national federation to compete.