English success at LGBTQ Rugby World Cup
Nearly 100 teams played in the Bingham Cup and Amanda Mark Cups in Rome last month.
Named after gay rugby hero Mark Bingham, the four-day tournament brought together 97 teams from over 110 clubs from around the world. Bingham was a member of the San Francisco Fog and was also involved with the New York Gotham Knights when he was killed in the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. He was on Flight 93 and helped take on the terrorists bringing the plane down in Pennsylvania.
This year’s event was the biggest ever taking over five different sporting venues to the south of Rome in the EUR area. With 90 teams competing in the Men’s/They competition, it was split over four tiers, with 16 teams competing for the prestigious Bingham Cup, which was held by London’s Kings Cross Steelers RFC, the world’s first gay and inclusive rugby club, after their victory in Ottawa in 2022.
Steelers’ ups and downs
This year, the Steelers took six teams on tour competing in all four levels of the competition, including over 50 players who had played less than two seasons of rugby. Unfortunately, the Steelers fell to their great rivals the Sydney Convicts in the Quarter Finals so losing the title. However, they went on to fight for the Bingham Bowl placing fifth overall in the tournament and the highest ranked English team.
The Cup was won by Paris team Les Gaillards, France’s first gay and inclusive team, who have seen exceptional growth and investment off the back of last year’s World Cup, showing the power of supporting LGBTQIA inclusive sport.
Winning the second-tier competition the Hoagland Cup, named after Mark Bingham’s mother Alice Hoagland, the Steelers 2nd XV brought the cup back home.
14 clubs from England
English representation spread from clubs in Plymouth to Newcastle, totalling 14 clubs, the largest number at a Bingham Cup and with clubs finishing higher than ever before.
Bristol Bisons fielded two squads for the first time in their Bingham Cup history. Coached by Exeter Chiefs player and former Red Rose Sasha Acheson, they had their best-ever tournament, placing third Red Rose in the Hoagland tier, 19th overall.
Other silverware was won by the Yorkshire Roses, a merged team made up of the Leeds Hunters and Sheffield Vulcans, who brought back the third-tier bowl, the Challenger Bowl and the Wessex Wyverns brought back the Challenger Plate
Growing with Pride
Matt Webb RFU Co-Opted Council member, former Chair, and current coach of the Steelers 4th XV was there and said: “The growth in the numbers and the quality of rugby was inspirational this year. The community and its clubs continue to show the best of rugby’s values on and off the pitch. Seeing so many English clubs represented at the tournament gives me great pride and confidence, that the 26 gay and inclusive clubs we have here will continue to grow and introduce rugby to more and more adults.
“This year also saw the second edition of the Amanda Mark Cup, with seven teams from across the world competing in the Women’s/They competition. The Amsterdam Lowlanders Aqua team won the cup against previous holders Ottawa Wolves RFC. I hope to see this section of the competition grow and more English teams who partner with IGR clubs take part. This year representation came from some East London RFC Vixens who are partners of the Steelers.”
