and Great Britain In 2003–04, the English Rugby Football Union introduced Mini Tag into its junior development program called The Three Stages of the Rugby Continuum, replacing touch rugby. Tag rugby also developed via IMBRL (Inter Message Board Rugby League) where message boards representing clubs took part in tournaments and friendly matches. Some developed into full-contact teams, others became tag teams and others folded. In 2008, a Tag Merit League was established based on the RL Merit League format. The league was developed with the intention to encourage new clubs outside the older IMBRL circuit to play tag rugby league. The Merit League operates on normal rugby league laws with tags taking the place of tackles. In 2009 Try Tag Rugby began running adult tag rugby competitions throughout London using OzTag rules. By the summer of 2011, over 1,000 players were regularly taking part in week night evening leagues across London at locations such as Finsbury Park, Gladstone Park, Wandsworth Town, Tooting Bec, Richmond, Shoreditch, Highbury and Southwark Park. The number of competitions continues to expand with over 240 teams competing across venues in London and Reading in the summer of 2014. Try Tag Rugby also host the annual London Tag Rugby Championships which attracts teams from across the UK and Europe. 42 teams registered for the event in 2013, playing 136 matches under 17 referees across nine pitches; a UK record for an adult Tag Rugby tournament. In September 2014 the Rugby Football League and Try Tag Rugby announced that they would be forming a partnership to increase participation in the sport across England. In early 2015 Try Tag Rugby announced they were expanding to Yorkshire, with leagues set to begin in April 2015. Try Tag Rugby have continued to grow the game substantially in 2016 with 507 teams competing in early summer leagues. Try Tag Rugby are the UK's official delegates of the European Tag Federation (ETF) and the International Tag Football Federation (ITFF). The Great Britain Tag Rugby Team has hosted inbound tours from Australia in 2011 and 2014, and the Tongan over 30s Men's team in 2013. The Great Britain mixed open and men's teams also competed in the 2012 Tag Rugby World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand, while 2013 saw the first annual Britain and Irish Cup. In 2016 Ireland won British & Irish Cup for a third time, by defeating Great Britain 4 -