__NOTOC__ The Cardiff Lions RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llewod Caerdydd) is a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

and inclusive

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

football club based in

Cardiff, Wales Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. The club was founded in 2004 and is the first of two gay and inclusive rugby clubs in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The Lions were admitted as members of the

International Gay Rugby Association and Board International Gay Rugby (IGR), formerly known as the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB), is the umbrella organisation for the world's gay and inclusive rugby clubs. Based in London, UK, IGR is recognised by World Rugby as th ...

in 2006.

History

Union Cup

The Lions have competed in the three

Union Cup The Union Cup is a biennial European, non-professional, gay rugby union tournament, bringing together teams and joint teams from all over Europe. It is held every odd-numbered year. History Montpellier 2005 The first edition was held in May 2005 i ...

tournaments to date; 2005 in Montpellier and 2007 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and 2009 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The 2007 tournament was a great success: Ten Lions players and Lions fans were joined by 2 of the

Newcastle Ravens Newcastle Ravens Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The current Chairman : Robin Davies History The team was organised to help encourage gay people to take part in the sport. The team was founded ...

and one player from the

Bristol Bisons RFC Bristol Bisons RFC is an inclusive English rugby union club based in Bristol. Founded in 2005 as the south west’s first inclusive rugby team, the Bisons have welcomed players (and supporters) of all abilities, backgrounds and sexualities fr ...

. The club recorded victories over NOP Amsterdam Rugby Club (35–5),

Malmö Devilants Malmö Devilants RFC is a Swedish gay rugby union and volleyball club in Malmö. Malmö Devilants was founded 2004 and was the first gay rugby team in Scandinavia. Malmö Devilants is a member of International Gay Rugby Association and Board. Devi ...

, twice, (30–5 and 35–0) and the

Caledonian Thebans RFC Caledonian Thebans Rugby Football Club is Scotland's leading inclusive rugby club and represents Scotland in international rugby union tournaments for inclusive teams. Established in 2002, the Thebans are based at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadiu ...

(5–25), drawing with the Emerald Warriors 10–10 on the way. The club missed out in a tense final in Copenhagen to the

Emerald Warriors RFC The Emerald Warriors are an Irish rugby team based in Dublin. They play in the Leinster Metro League Division 10 and 7 and are members of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board. They are the reigning bronze final champions since Unio ...

10–5 after extra time.Union Cup 2007
2009 saw another successful year for the Lions in the Union Cup – taking part in the 10s tournament, the Lions played some superb running rugby to become undefeated 10s champions. They recorded victories over

Kings Cross Steelers The Kings Cross Steelers are a British rugby team, based in London. Founded in 1995 it was the world's first gay-inclusive rugby union club. Its founding sparked the beginning of a much larger gay-inclusive rugby movement which to date include ...

2nd (19–0), Los Valents (26–12),

(0–22) and

Caledonian Thebans Caledonian Thebans Rugby Football Club is Scotland's leading inclusive rugby club and represents Scotland in international rugby union tournaments for inclusive teams. Established in 2002, the Thebans are based at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadiu ...

(0–26). This set up a final against the Steelers 2nds, in which the Cardiff Lions emerged 29–7 victors. A number of the squad also helped out with the

who won the 7's tournament. Cardiff Lions Captain Justin Gyphion also picked up the top try scorers award to crown a highly successful weekend. Image:Clrfc-unioncup2009.jpg, Cardiff Lions – Union Cup 2009 10s Winners

Bingham Cup

The Cardiff Lions travelled to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, NY in May 2006 for the 3rd

Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament The Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament or the Bingham Cup is a biennial international, non-professional, gay rugby union tournament, first held in 2002. It is named after Mark Bingham, who died on board United Airlines Flight 93 when it cras ...

where they came 6th in the Plate competition. In June 2008 the Cardiff Lions travelled to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

for the 4th biennial

Bingham Cup The Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament or the Bingham Cup is a biennial international, non-professional, gay rugby union tournament, first held in 2002. It is named after Mark Bingham, who died on board United Airlines Flight 93 when it cras ...

hosted magnificently by the Emerald Warriors. The structure of the competition and seedings put the Lions in the lower tier and competing for either the second tier Plate, third tier Bowl or fourth tier Shield. A travelling squad of 23 players and 6 support staff made a vast improvement on the previous Bingham Cup results: Friday 13 June Game 1, Cardiff Lions 41

Phoenix Storm Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

10 Game 2, Cardiff Lions 36

Copenhagen Scrum Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ...

0 Saturday 14 June Game 3, Cardiff Lions 56

Manchester Village Spartans The Manchester Village Spartans RUFC is Manchester's gay and inclusive rugby union football team based at Sale Sports Club, Manchester. The club welcomes players at all skill levels who do and do not identify as LGBT, and has both Rugby Union ...

2nds 0 Plate/Bowl decider, Cardiff Lions 31 Atlanta Bucks 0 Sunday 15 June Quarter Final Plate, Cardiff Lions 21 Emerald Warriors 19 Semi Final Plate, Cardiff Lions 5 Sydney Convicts 2nds 27 These results left the Cardiff Lions in 3rd place in the Plate competition after winning the 3rd/4th play-off boat race at the closing ceremony against

San Francisco Fog RFC San Francisco Fog Rugby Football Club (RFC), also known as "The Fog", is a rugby union football club in San Francisco, California. It is the first such team in the western United States established specifically to actively reach out to traditional ...

2nds. A huge improvement on the previous Bingham Cup and with a lot more teams taking part (32 from around the world).

The future

Next up for the club will be the Hadrian Cup in February. This is the annual 10's competition hosted by The

. The club also has ambitions to expand and improve the squad, developing links with local clubs.

References

{{Gay Rugby Clubs International Gay Rugby member clubs Rugby union teams in Wales

History

Union Cup

Bingham Cup

The future

See also

References