Gay day on rugby pitch

Jun 4 2008 by Chris Robinson, The Journal

A TEAM of North rugby players have their eyes set on international success as they get ready to play in the gay rugby world cup.

Newcastle-based team the Ravens will travel to the Bingham Cup, in Dublin, for the five-day event.

Now in its fourth year, the tournament was named after American Mark Bingham, a passenger on board Flight 93 which crashed over Shanksville, Pennsylvania, during the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The predominately gay team was set up two years ago and trains twice a week at the Novos ground in Benton, Newcastle.

The team has joined forces with players from Edinburgh under the name the Northern Stags to increase their chances in the Bowl section of the tournament, which begins on Thursday, June 12.

Teams from London, Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol will also attend.

Chairman Dave Burke, 25, of Gosforth, Newcastle, said: “The cup is held once every two years in memory of Mark Bingham, who played for the San Francisco Fog Gay Rugby ream and who died in the September 11 attacks. It is held once every two years in his honour and originally started off in San Francisco with a few teams. It’s now in its fourth year and there are 40 teams from all over the world with over 1,200 people attending.”

The Bingham Cup was set up in 2002 by the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB) which promotes the game as an all-inclusive non-discriminatory sport.

Next weekend teams from Australia, USA and Europe will descend upon Dublin for the games, hosted by the Emerald Warriors.

Second row forward Mr Burke, a researcher at Newcastle University, added: “I think we will do pretty well and I’m fairly confident.

“We were originally just a few guys throwing a ball around in the park every Saturday. But now we have progressed to training with the Novos, have held two of our own tournaments, train 11 months of the year and are now an affiliated RFU club.”

The team, which also trains with straight players, is also on the lookout for new members regardless of experience or sexual orientation.

Mr Burke added: “We have a strict policy of being open to everyone so anyone can come along and we have had a fantastic reception from all the North East clubs, especially the Novos who we train with once a week.”

Anyone wanting to join or play a match against them can contact the team via its website, www.newcastleravens.co.uk