Some 25 players from the Atlanta Bucks Rugby Football Club are taking part in the sport’s gay world championships in Ireland this weekend, where the club hopes to improve on its sixth-place performance in 2006. (Photo by Matt Hennie)
‘Bringing it to Bingham’ Bucks rugby takes rallying cry to international championship
BY THE END of the weekend, the Atlanta Bucks Rugby Football Club will know where it stands.
A contingent of 40 people from the gay rugby team, including 25 players, is in Dublin, Ireland for several days competing in the Bingham Cup, the championship of the International Gay Rugby Association & Board. The team is among 32 hoping to scrum it all the way to a title and respect among gay clubs around the globe.
The Bucks, despite a 3-6 season that ended last month, have been preparing for the international event since they first took the pitch on Jan. 26 and lost 52-3 to crosstown rivals. But with each match, the team learned a little more, jelled and progressed, according to Bullet Manale, president of the Bucks.
“We had a lot of newer players, so this newer side and this team is just starting to jell together,” Manale said. “We’ve had enough time to play together and know what we’re going to do together.”
Of the 25 Bucks players taking part in the Bingham Cup, 15 haven’t played in such a large-scale international competition. By Saturday afternoon, they’ll have three matches of pool play under their belts and will learn whether they finish the competition pursuing the Cup, the prize for the tournament’s top division, or for the Plate, Bowl or Shield. Paddy Power, Ireland’s largest bookmaker and a sponsor of the event, put the odds of the Bucks taking the Bowl at 8-1.
“It’s an ambitious trip and it is a great feeling to have all of these guys being there. It will be empowering to see such a large group of us together and to be able to share that experience together,” Manale said.
THE TOURNAMENT, WHICH started in 2002 with eight teams, was named to honor Mark Bingham, a rugby player from San Francisco who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The event is held every two years.
In 2006, the Bucks finished sixth in the eight-team middle tier of competition, a result Manale hopes the club improves this year.
“We are trying to get focused and play within ourselves and not worry about who we are playing. Our expectation is to focus on our play and what we have been working on this season. We want to win and compete for a championship. But our coach has been trying to focus us on going into the tournament with a very calm and focused demeanor,” he said.
Beyond the competition and seeing how the Bucks measure up against other gay clubs, participating in the Bingham Cup provides off-the-pitch rewards, Manale said.
“The feeling when you have when you are together with these other clubs, to know there are other people out there with the shared experience of being a gay rugby club and coming together in a competitive but still a fraternal atmosphere, is empowering. You feel so good and it’s an experience of a lifetime,” he said.
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