Congratulations to all teams who qualified for the All Ireland Finals in Barnhall RFC on Saturday 24th July and who produced such a high quality event. Barnhall RFC, Leixlip, Co Kildare was the perfect venue with prestine pitches, friendly club members and easy access, especially for regional teams.

As this was our first year running the All Ireland Finals as an Open Draw, it resulted in a hugely competitive tournament with very little between the 48 teams who participated. Despite some light drizzle at the start, the weather improved dramatically resulting in glorious sunshine and lots of sunburnt tag players!

As befits the All Ireland stage, all group matches were of a very high standard played at a tremendous pace with huge intensity. 16 teams qualified for the Cup with Bugaboos qualifying as top seeds. After 2 highly competitive rounds, it was down to OAPS, The Jimmies, The Pie Eaters and Force XV Panthers in the semi finals. In keeping with the whole day, there were 2 tremendously tight semis with surprise packets The Jimmies particularly unlucky not to get through to the Final.

Congratulations though to Force XV Panthers who beat the OAPs in the Cup Final to be crowned All Ireland Tag Champions. It was a fitting finale to the tournament with the two teams who have consistently been the best in the country over the past few years fighting it out for the title. The Panthers (reigning Pig n Porter Champions) and the O.A.P.'s played out an exciting final with the Panthers taking the game in literally the last second with a try as the game was about to enter golden try extra time.

In the Plate competition, Limerick Exiles had a Golden Try victory over Stade Champange and in keeping with all the other finals, both Esite ExTaggers and Rusty Trombones had one point victories in the Bowl and Superbowl Finals. 4 dramatic finals with literally 1 point between all teams is the testament to the quality of tag rugby on show throughout the day.

Special thanks to all the Referees and Venue Managers who worked tirelessly throughout the day and indeed throughout the season.

Finally what a wonderful venue Barnhall RFC proved to be. Pitches were in an immaculate condition and the grounds looked resplenant in the glorious weather. The fantastic (and value for money) BBQ, the wonderful stewards and car parkers, the general hospitality and wonderful pitches all made this our most atmospheric All Irelands to date. It’s easy to see why Barnhall our one of the country’s most progressive clubs.

Below are the winners collecting their trophies. Check out our facebook page (TagRugby Ireland) for some more action from the day out in Barnhall!

Plate Winners = Limerick Exiles

Bowl Winners = ExSite eTaggers