Royal Arsenal Tag Rugby Club
Royal Arsenal Tag Rugby Club is predominantly a social group who play Tag (NON contact) Rugby weekly, based on the Royal Arsenal Riverside SE London, that competes in East London Leagues.
On occasions nicknamed “The Wooly Arses”, the club was founded in 2014 by John Gavin and Errol Slater having been inspired by a friend who organised a game of touch rugby(a NON contact sport) in Blackheath. Through sheer dedication and passion it has grown like no other club of it’s kind and are officially accredited by the RFU, the very first Tag Club to be accepted into the organisation. The ambitions do not stop there by any means, because the club have massive plans for the future. Most recently the interest to nurture those players in Gen X to train for a chance in GB50s trials (World Cup 2026). As a way to support the senior category in tag competition, a TAG50s Academy has been launched.
To this date it is very much a community driven endeavor hosting monthly events to keep the local community engaged. They also frequently raise money for worthwhile charities.
Teams are entered into the London Leagues including tag leagues run by NCR Sports. It’s also worth noting the Royal Arsenal Tag Rugby club are developing hosting regular GB coaching sessions and a current member of the TRUGBY academy.
The club have teams that play regularly in the league, Woolwich Arsenal(now a mens team), Royal Arsenal & Riverside Arsenal. The continued development has led to some very successful team members progressing to Super League and participation in Tag Rugby World Cup. (Next World Cup is 2026)
Since covid, membership has somewhat waned slightly, but the numbers are slowly coming back with new regular sessions with NEW first time OPEN DAYS. The club hopes to gain enough interest to one day have their own clubhouse or even an arena for non contact sports.
When: Sunday Mornings 11-13:15(registration necessary)
Where: MOD ground in front of Parade Barracks Woolwich
Also Blackheath Saturdays/Tuesdays and Wednesdays in summer Wellington Park at 7:30pm Royal Arsenal(depending on numbers)
Join us if you’re a resident or NOT of Royal Arsenal. No need to know the rules, we’ll explain as you go.