Popular tag tugs more players on to field

Tomarata Tag committee member Michelle Keast says tag is taking over as the summer sport of choice, particularly in the Wellsford area.

This year, Tomarata RFC will host 450 players in 37 teams, comprising 17 adult and 20 junior teams.

This is well up on the 24 teams fielded just two years ago, in 2017. Keast points to Rodney College having changed its touch tournament to a tag tournament as one of the drivers of growth.

“Where touch is about speed, tag is more strategic. With tag, it doesn’t matter about your age or abilities, you can still play,” she says.

Keast says Tomarata was the first rugby club in the country to have a tag module, seven years ago.

Now Tomarata feeds players into Northland Stingrays’ regional representative teams, which play in Auckland at a national event in December. In November, 2500 players from 17 nations will also compete in the Oceania Indigenous Invitational Cup, held in Pulham Park, Auckland.

Tomarata players Oliver Broadhead and Jackson Brierly will both be refereeing at the cup, having refereed the sport for three years now.

No signs of touch rugby running out of puff

Mahurangi RFC’s touch module is again subscribed to capacity, with 25 senior teams and 600 youngsters playing in 51 junior teams.

Organiser Bernie Kose says that due to interest this year, he has had to turn away three teams  from the social grade.

The social grade consists of 12 teams, which are split up into three groups of four. They will play for six weeks before a round of finals between the top teams.

There are five teams playing in the top tier open grade. A rivalry is brewing between Wellsford’s Big D and Warkworth’s Touche teams.

Kose says eight teams will also play in the over-35 grade, which is social, yet competitive. Meanwhile,

Mahurangi Touch is short of referees; two are currently out of action – one with a broken leg and the other requiring shoulder reconstruction surgery. Kose says he is looking for more volunteers to put their hands up to referee.

Kaipara tag is now into its third year at the Mangawhai Domain and has six junior teams and three senior teams playing in its competition this season. It is looking for local volunteers to mark out the fields each Tuesday before games start at 4pm.