Try Tag Rugby Reading: Taster Session

Try Tag Rugby is running a taster session for beginners at Reading RFC on Thursday 12 November, from 8pm to 9pm. It's a free session, so if you've ever been curious about the game but didn't want to commit to a full league right away, this is a good way to see what it's all about.

If you've never come across it, tag rugby is a social, non-contact version of the game played on a pitch with no tackling. Instead of a tackle, players wear a tag — a Velcro patch on their shorts — which opponents pull off to gain possession. It's usually played in a seven-a-side format, and it's described as one of the fastest-growing, all-inclusive social sports for adults, with mixed, men's and women's leagues and post-match socials at local venues. The Reading region offers these free taster sessions for newcomers, and you don't need any prior experience, kit or a team to join in — just trainers and a drink.

The sport is open to all ages, and it's a proper workout: you can burn upwards of 600 calories in a 40-minute game. To give you a sense of the scale, more than 10,000 adults were playing every week in the summer of 2023, around 40% of them female, and the organisation launched its first junior programme in Brighton & Hove that same year.

The session is at Reading RFC, Holme Park/Sonning Lane, Reading RG4 6ST, on Thursday 12 November from 8pm to 9pm. It's free to attend.