Cardiff 7's and King Cross Steelers 2006

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Gallery 1					Cardiff 7's	Video Stills

Gay Rugby

The video above consists of 3 matches. The first is a rugby 7's tournament held on the morning of Cardiff Mardi Gras in 2005, then there are 2 matches from London's gay rugby club Kings Cross Steelers filmed in 2006 when I occasionally played for them.

There are now many gay rugby clubs dotted around the UK, but London's Kings Cross Steelers was the first to get started, not only in the UK but the whole world.

The world's first rugby club for gay and bisexual men was founded at a meeting which took place in Central Station, a gay pub in London's King's Cross district on 1 November 1995. The "Steelers" part of the name came about because many of the club's founder members were keen fans of American Football. The Steelers' claim to the title of the "world's first gay rugby club" is based on the fact that South Africa's Jamieson Raiders (founded in 1985) are an annual invitation team, rather than a registered club playing seasonal fixtures. Additionally, the Sydney-based POOFTAs (also founded in 1985) play touch rugby rather than matches under the Union Code.
Training started at the beginning of 1996 and the club joined the Surrey County Union in the summer of 1996. The first game under RFU rules took place on 21 September 1996 when we played Orleans Former Pupils at Stawberry Hill (lost 92-10), followed by London Cornish 3 a week later.

In 1999 they became full members of the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) and at the same time joined Surrey County League Four. Then in 2007 the 1st XV were promoted to Essex League 2.