Team tackle

The Sydney Convicts and Melbourne Chargers gay rugby clubs have announced they will stage a rematch of Wrestle a Rugger, won by the Convicts in Melbourne last September.

The Chargers are currently in Sydney for Mardi Gras celebrations where they’ll share a float with their rivals during the parade.

“Wrestle a Rugger will be a lot of fun, with a bunch of our guys in footy shorts going at each other in jelly in a series of hard-fought rounds,” Convicts president David Whittaker said.

“We hope the Chargers bring their best game to the wrestling ring and give us a good run for our money, but as two-time gay rugby world cup champions, the Sydney Convicts certainly won’t go down without a fight.”

Wrestle a Rugger will take over upstairs at the Midnight Shift on March 4, with Chargers dragscot Dolly Diamond and UK pal Rose Garden — who has worked with rivals, the Kings Cross Steelers — hosting.
All proceeds will fund the joint Mardi Gras parade entry.

“We are excited to be participating with the Sydney Convicts in the 2011 Mardi Gras parade to demonstrate the size, strength and personality of the Australian gay rugby community,” Chargers president Sam Minter said.

“We are fitter, stronger and more determined than ever, and have our biggest and strongest guys ready to punish their Sydney counterparts in the jelly ring.”

The Melbourne/Sydney parade entry will likely be the clubs’ largest to date, with around 100 chunky rugby players marching up Oxford St in a display of unity and pride for the gay rugby movement.

“We are growing gay rugby in Australia, challenging stereotypes and discrimination in sport, playing good rugby and having a whole lot of fun in the process,” Whittaker said.