Gay footy squads pumped for 2013 season

Australia’s gay rugby teams say they are ready for their local competitions starting this month as they prepare for the second national tournament with all three teams and next year’s international Bingham Cup held in Sydney.

Brisbane

The Brisbane Hustlers will kick off their first game in a local tournament in more than five years on April 6 as they join the Scotney Cup.

Hustlers coach Darren Hegarty said this year was about establishing the team as an inclusive club in Brisbane.

“The team has made huge strides in the short pre-season. Player recruitment has bought in quite a few novices as well as some experienced rugby players and we’ve been working hard on building our basic skill level, fitness and team cohesion,” Hegarty said.

Last month, the team held an intensive bootcamp over two days that ramped up training to fast track overall team bonding and skill levels.

Hustlers president Aaron Fleming said the bootcamp was a huge success as it pushed players to breaking point and fostered team bonding.

Melbourne

In Victoria, the Melbourne Chargers held their rookie training session in February to boost team numbers in the lead up to their winter competition starting on April 20.

The Rugby 101 session attracted some 30 participants with most of them joining the training squad.

Chargers president Sam Minter said the rookie session was a success as the team had been bolstered by the new players.

He said he felt reasonably confident about this year’s local tournament after losing some of their more experienced players.

“Our numbers are looking pretty good, our training squad is at about 35 guys,” Minter said.

He said it put the club in a good position to building two teams for next year’s Bingham Cup after competing in the tournament for the first time last year.

Their local competition runs until September but Minter said he hoped to host the Purchas Cup around late September with the three teams and a possible New Zealand entry.

Sydney

Last year, the Sydney Convicts dominated the gay rugby arena after winning the international gay rugby Bingham Cup, the national gay rugby Purchas Cup and taking out their local Nicholson Cup competition.

Convicts co-president David Whittaker said they were training hard to defend their international win last year as the 2014 Bingham Cup travels to Sydney, marking the first time it will be held in the southern hemisphere in its 11-year history.

“We’re always looking to improve and so have entered teams in tough competitions as part of our preparation to defend the Bingham Cup in Sydney in 2014. This year will be perhaps our biggest rugby challenge yet,” Whittaker said.

He said they would be fielding three teams this year for the first time after more than 30 new players joined the club.

The Convicts are expecting 1500 players and officials to travel to Sydney from more than 15 countries to contest what will be the largest rugby union tournament in the world next year.