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City's first gay rugby team prepare for kick-off

Elliot DeadyCambridgeshire
News imageRoss Barr-Hoyland A man smiling directly at the camera. He is wearing a red patterned rugby top. There are trees in the background.Ross Barr-Hoyland
Ross Barr-Hoyland has been involved in setting up the Cambridge Yales

A new gay and inclusive rugby club is being founded in Cambridge.

The Cambridge Yales will host their first training session at the city's rugby club, in Grantchester Road, at 10:30 BST on Saturday.

Co-founder Ross Barr-Hoyland said the team was launching with an eight-week training programme open to players of all abilities.

"You don't have to have any experience of playing sport, never mind rugby. Just come along, have fun, and see what you think," he said.

The Yales will be the sixth gay rugby club in the East of England, following in the footsteps of the Colchester Kings who became the region's first inclusive side in 2022.

Other clubs have since launched in Northampton, Norwich, and, in Essex, in Southend-on-Sea and Rochford.

News imageJamie Niblock/BBC Colchester Kings forwards practice a line-out on the rugby field. About seven people can be seen dotted around. The sun is setting.Jamie Niblock/BBC
The Colchester Kings became the East of England's first gay rugby club in 2022

About 30 people were already interested in joining, according to Barr-Hoyland, a trustee of the organising body International Gay Rugby.

He said he had helped set up similar teams across Europe and had the idea to bring gay rugby to Cambridge over a drink with a friend.

The 37-year-old said he once thought he could not love rugby and be gay, until he joined an inclusive team in Leeds.

"When I found them, it was just like coming home, but I think it's more than that," he said.

"I think it's about people finding a family and a team to bond together and support each other, both on and off the pitch."

News imageChristopher Hilton/Geograph An embossed coat of arms over a stone gateway. It features a shield with a crown on top of it, and two yales standing on their hind legs "supporting" the shield. On the left of a yale is a crown above a flower. On the right of the other yales is a crown above a portcullis.Christopher Hilton/Geograph
Two yales (also known as centicores) support the coat of arms at St John's College. The mythological figure has its roots in European folklore

All sexualities will be welcome at the club, he said, adding that many straight men have joined similar teams because "they love how 'no pressure' it is".

There are more than 100 inclusive sides around the world, according to International Gay Rugby.

The new club's name is inspired by the yale – a mythical creature which features in heraldry, including on the gates of two of the University of Cambridge's colleges.

Cambridge has the fourth largest non-heterosexual population in England and Wales, according to the latest census.

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