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Steeled for success
KCSRFC
"The results in the Bingham Cup are fabulous, and show how far the club has progressed since the last tournament two years ago"
The Kings Cross Steelers are London’s only gay rugby club and have been playing and winning games since 1995.
They were the first gay rugby team to play under the Union code, and the team currently has over 150 players and supporters, 10 per cent of whom are also heterosexual.
Recently the Steelers’ first and second teams won places in the finals of the Bingham Cup in Dublin, an international rugby competition named in remembrance of Mark Kendall Bingham, one of the heroic victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Mark was a keen rugby player, playing for one of USA’s leading gay & bisexual rugby teams – the San Francisco Fog RFC.
To qualify for the finals, the Steelers’ First and Second XVs had to play against thirty other clubs from across the globe in the largest tournament of its kind in the world.
Their First XV faced a gruelling semi-final against San Francisco Fog in a game which went into extra time and eventually made it through to the final by the very narrowest of points differences. In a tense and gripping final, the Steelers faced the Sydney Convicts, who ended up the victors by scoring eighteen points to the three scored by the Steelers.
The Second XV fought through various injuries, and the sheer exhaustion of seven games over three days, to face the US team, the Atlanta Bucks. This thrilling final resulted in the Americans winning twelve points over the Steelers’ five.
Richard Carswell, President of the Kings Cross Steelers, said: ‘The results in the Bingham Cup, which are fabulous, show how far the club has progressed since the last tournament two years ago, in New York, where our first team came sixth. Our progress has been due to strong and clear leadership, total commitment from the players, and the regular discipline of the Essex league. It is a wonderful achievement. The club can be proud of itself.’
The Steelers resume training on July 14 2008, at their clubhouse in West Ham, London, where they start preparing for the new season of matches starting in September.
If you want to join the club and join in their future glory, then visit www.kxsrfc.com
(Photo courtesy Ian Wilson)
