Great Britain Name HPTS for 2026
After a successful trial weekend in Leeds and London at the beginning of March, which showcased a strong standard of trialists, coaches and managers carefully assessed both incumbent and new players before selecting their HPTS members for 2026.
In total over 300 players have been selected across 10 UK squads, these are: Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Mixed Open, Women’s 27s, Men’s 30s, Mixed Seniors, Women’s 37s, Men’s 40s, Men’s 50s, Mixed 21s.
These squads will gradually be reduced to a final touring group of 20 players who will represent their teams in the annual British & Irish Cup in Ireland, and at the Tag World Cup in Australia. The first squad reduction will take place after the second training camp at the end of May, when squads will be narrowed to 26 players, before the final selection to form a touring team of 20 players.
A Mixed Under 21s team has been formed from the incumbent players in the Men’s and Women’s 22s teams along with additional trialists. The team will be led by Head Coach Jodie Bijorac, supported by Assistant Coaches Laura Riches and Neil Streete.
Players from across the Try Tag Rugby UK regions feature in the squads, highlighting the ongoing growth of both Great Britain Tag Rugby and the sport across the UK. While South London contributes the highest number of players, there’s other notable regions represented including West Yorkshire, while Thames Valley Titans, Bristol Brabazons and Coventry & Warwickshire Paladins together account for over 20% of the selected players.
Great Britain Programme Director Gregg Cropper said: “The depth of talent we saw across the trial process was extremely encouraging and it created some very tough decisions for our coaches. It’s fantastic to see players from across the UK pushing to be part of the Great Britain programme and the overall standard at trials was very high. That level of competition for places is exactly what we want to see as we continue to raise standards across the programme.
“Selection into the High Performance Training Squads is just the start of the journey. Over the coming months the focus will be on building strong team environments, developing combinations and preparing players to compete for medals at both the British & Irish Cup and the Tag World Cup.
“We’re also continuing to strengthen the programme around the players. Alongside the coaching teams we now have a dedicated strength and conditioning group supporting the squads, and we’re introducing sports psychology support into the programme for the first time. Those additions will help ensure players are not only physically prepared, but also mentally ready to perform on the international stage.”
All squads will come together at the end of April for the first ever full programme two-day training camp, where players will refine their skills and build cohesion ahead of the British & Irish Cup in August and the Tag World Cup in October.
British & Irish Cup
Great Britain and Ireland have competed annually in the British & Irish Cup since 2013. Hosting of the tournament alternates between the UK and Ireland each year.
Great Britain will be aiming to secure a fourth consecutive British & Irish Cup following a dominant performance in 2025. GB won seven of the eleven categories, achieving a record overall victory of 17.5 to 7.5. For the first time in the competition’s history, Great Britain also completed three clean sweeps, winning all five matches in the Women’s Open, Men’s Open and Mixed Seniors divisions.
Tag World Cup
At the most recent Tag World Cup in 2023, Great Britain entered eight of the 13 categories and achieved one gold, two silver and three bronze medals. All eight teams finished within the top four of their respective competitions. Four squads - Women’s Open, Women’s 35s, Mixed Seniors and Men’s 40s - secured medals on their World Cup debut, as the programme doubled its number of entries compared with 2018.
This year, Great Britain is aiming to take 10 squads from the UK to the Tag World Cup. Alongside the Great Britain teams made up of British-qualified players who live in Australia, Great Britain Tag Rugby will be represented in all available divisions of the Tag World Cup, for the first time ever.
The teams represented by British-qualified players who live in Australia are:
Boys 16s, Girls 16s, Boys 18s, Girls 18s, Men’s 21s, Women’s 21s, Men’s 35s, Men’s 45s, Women’s 47s, Men’s 60s.
Follow Great Britain’s road to the Tag World Cup on social media:
www.instagram.com/greatbritaintag
www.facebook.com/greatbritaintag
