On the ball

At the 2004 Bingham Cup in London, the Sydney Convicts did fierce battle with the San Francisco Fog in a semi-final stoush.

But it was the American team who won the game, and went on to take the tournament.

Sydney Convicts president Andrew Purchas does not anticipate a repeat of history at this year’s Bingham Cup in New York.

Rather, the rugby team is heading into battle with high hopes of bringing the Cup home with them.

I think we are going to do well, he told SydneyStar Observer from Toronto, the night before flying to New York.

This is a good team, we are in good shape and we are stronger than we were last time.

The Bingham Cup was established in 2002 in honour of San Francisco Fog player Mark Bingham, who died during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Twenty-eight teams from 10 countries are taking part in the third Bingham Cup. San Francisco Fog won the first two Bingham Cups, and the defending champions are looking to take home a third, presenting the largest squad at this year’s games. The Convicts are the second-largest.

But Purchas says each of the major teams have their own reasons for wanting to win this year’s Cup.

We want to win because we came so close last time, but San Francisco is out to defend their title, he says.

It means a lot to that team as he (Bingham) played with them. There is a passion there and the players get very involved.

The New York team members also want to win as they are the hosts and are in front of a home crowd. This means so much to them, and they are going all-out to win.

Follow the results of this weekend’s action on the Bingham Cup website.