Booking
This is a Development Festival event and is open for booking now.
If the event reaches capacity, schools will automatically be placed on a waiting list and notified accordingly. MSSP will contact schools should places become available prior to the event.
Eligibility
Age Groups
- Year 5/6 Girls
- Year 7/8 Girls
Squad Size
- Maximum: 10 players
- Minimum: 7 players
Event Format
The festival is designed to develop confidence, skills and enjoyment of rugby in a supportive environment.
- Morning: Tag rugby skill stations and mini-games led by coaches and sports leaders.
- Afternoon: 7-a-side tag rugby matches.
All participants will train together during the morning activities before competing in separate Year 5/6 and Year 7/8 groups during the afternoon fixtures.
Competition Format
This is a non-tournament development event focused on participation and skill development.
Teams will rotate through a series of tag rugby skill stations before taking part in afternoon matches. Initial fixtures will be played in round-robin groups, with a second stage introduced where time permits.
Festival Objectives
- Increase girls’ participation in rugby.
- Develop fundamental tag rugby skills.
- Build confidence and teamwork.
- Provide a positive and inclusive introduction to competitive play.
- Strengthen links with local rugby clubs and community pathways.
Team Groupings
There are no formal seedings for this event. Teams will be placed into afternoon groups based on ability and experience to ensure enjoyable and competitive matches for all participants.
Awards and Recognition
As this is a development festival:
- No medals or trophies will be awarded.
- REFSPECT Certificates will be presented to teams demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship and respect.
- All participants will receive a participation certificate.
Results
No official results or league tables will be recorded.
A festival report and photographs (where permitted) will be published in the MSSP News section following the event.
Progression Pathway
There is no progression pathway linked to this festival and there may not be an overall winner.
The primary aim is to provide an enjoyable introduction to tag rugby and support continued participation in physical activity.
Kit and Equipment
Schools must provide:
- A fully stocked first aid kit.
- At least one member of staff with a current first aid qualification.
- Warm-up rugby balls.
- Tag belts for all players (including two tags attached by Velcro).
Match balls will be provided by MSSP.
Footwear
- Trainers
- Astro boots
- Moulded boots
- Studded boots
Metal blades are not permitted.
Clothing
Players may wear school, club or national rugby shirts suitable for physical activity. Coloured bibs will be available for matches where required.
Safety
- No jewellery may be worn.
- Essential eyewear should be made from plastic rather than glass.
Staffing and Spectators
- Team sheets must be completed before or upon arrival.
- Spectators are not permitted.
- All accompanying staff must hold enhanced DBS clearance and have been fully vetted by their school.
- DBS details may be requested in advance where events take place on school sites.
Key Rules
General Play
- Tag belts must be worn correctly around the waist with clothing tucked in.
- Tags must be positioned either side of the hips.
- Players may run and dodge but must not fend off, guard or shield their tags.
- Players may spin once to evade a defender but repeated spinning is not permitted.
- Diving to avoid a tag is not allowed.
- Matches start with a Rip-and-Pass from the centre of the pitch.
- After six tags without a try being scored, possession changes to the defending team at the point of the last tag.
- Unsporting behaviour will result in possession being awarded to the non-offending team and play restarted from the point of the infringement.
Rip and Pass
- The ball carrier must return to the spot where the tag occurred.
- Facing their team, the player holds the ball out for another player to Rip the ball and pass to another player.
- The teammate who gathers the ball from this position (called the Dummy half) must pass the ball and should not run forwards. They can take steps laterally to assist with passing. You cannot score from a Dummy Half. N.B Any player can be the Dummy Half and the player at Dummy Half could change at every Play-the-Ball.
- Defence must maintain a distance of 5 metres until the Dummy Half passes the ball and must retreat 5 metres after each tag. The Dummy Half should not deliberately delay the pass and repeatedly delaying the pass intentionally may be penalised for unsportsmanlike conduct. A pass must be played within 3 seconds of the ball being made available to the dummy half.
- If a defender does not retreat 5 metres, they will be deemed to be offside. If a tag is made from an offside position, the attacker should play the ball as normal, but the tag will not add to the tag count. Repeated or deliberate offside offences will be penalised as unsporting behaviour & the tag count reset to zero.
Tagging
- Only the player in possession of the ball can be tagged.
- A tag is simply the removal by a defender of one of two of the ribbons from the ball carrier.
- When a defender has removed the tag, he/she stands still at the point at which the tag was removed.
- The attacker returns to where the defender is holding the tag and restarts the game by a ‘rip and pass’ backwards in the correct manner. Before this, the defender must present the tag back to the tagged player. Neither the defender nor the tagged player can take any further part in the game without both tags properly in place on their belts.
Scoring a Try
- A try is scored in the normal way by placing or touching the ball down on or over your opponents’ try line.
- If tagged in the act of scoring the try will stand.
- After a try has been scored the non-scoring team will restart with a Rip-and-Pass, centre field on the halfway line. All other starts and restarts will also be with a Rip-and-Pass whatever the situation.
MSSP Duty of Care
At Merton School Sport Partnership, the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of every participant is our highest priority. Our Duty of Care framework outlines the measures we take to ensure all events are safe, enjoyable and accessible, covering key areas including safeguarding, health and safety, equality, diversity and inclusion, risk assessments, medical provision, codes of conduct, photography and data protection.
We ask all schools, staff, volunteers and participants to familiarise themselves with these expectations before attending MSSP events.
For full details, please download the MSSP Duty of Care document or visit the relevant section of our website HERE for further guidance, policies and event information.