Reuben Jarvis: “I understand the fear but I will never accept it.”

Last month, Scottish Rugby followed the lead of their counterparts in the other home nations by banning trans women from playing the sport. It is one of the latest setbacks for those campaigning for inclusion in sport, and came after a long consultation to determine what steps the governing body would take. While much of …

Continue reading Reuben Jarvis: “I understand the fear but I will never accept it.”

Colin Arthur: “It’s nice to know that people can look at me and see that you can feel open and safe.”

There is a well-established inclusive rugby scene in Scotland, but not everyone chooses to go down that route. Clubs like Caledonian Thebans, Glasgow Raptors and Aberdeen Taexali are spaces to encourage people into the game, while still being competitive in their own right. However, if you want to get to the top of the Scottish …

Continue reading Colin Arthur: “It’s nice to know that people can look at me and see that you can feel open and safe.”

Sam Abdulla: “I’d had the best time and I can remember it viscerally, and then I felt like it had been taken away from me.”

Sam Abdulla is proof of the impact inclusive clubs can have on someone’s life. Now chair of the Caledonian Thebans Rugby Club in Edinburgh, the Welshman returned to the sport after over 15 years in Scotland’s capital city having been driven out of the sport as a youngster. Rugby is part of the culture in …

Continue reading Sam Abdulla: “I’d had the best time and I can remember it viscerally, and then I felt like it had been taken away from me.”

Sirri Rånes: “I was able to feel that gut wrenching pain of what it feels like to be excluded, to be deemed as less and unworthy. I didn’t want anyone else to ever feel that.”

From a very early age, Sirri Rånes became aware that sport was rife with inequality – and that has gone on to inspire the path she would take as a career. Rånes currently plays rugby and recreational football, but it was not always that way. Football was her first love, with rugby not properly coming …

Continue reading Sirri Rånes: “I was able to feel that gut wrenching pain of what it feels like to be excluded, to be deemed as less and unworthy. I didn’t want anyone else to ever feel that.”

Glasgow Raptors and Aberdeen Taexali to enter Bingham Cup

The Bingham Cup is the biggest inclusive rugby tournament in the world. Named after Mark Bingham, an American rugby player who helped found the Gotham Knights but died on one of the planes involved in the 9/11 attacks after fighting on-board with the hijackers, this year is the 20th anniversary of the first edition of …

Continue reading Glasgow Raptors and Aberdeen Taexali to enter Bingham Cup

Rainbow Laces in rugby: “If you actually step back and look at yourselves, you have to question whether you’re doing as much as you can.”

Football is far and away the dominant sport in the UK. As such, that is where most of the sports coverage in the media falls, and also where campaigns like Rainbow Laces are most likely to be visible. However, Rainbow Laces is not just limited to football. Sky Sports have published various articles with people …

Continue reading Rainbow Laces in rugby: “If you actually step back and look at yourselves, you have to question whether you’re doing as much as you can.”

LEAP Sports Scotland announce inaugural Qeltic Games to be held in Perth in 2023

LEAP Sports Scotland have announced the launch of the Qeltic Games - a new grassroots multisport tournament which will bring together LGBTQIA+ sports teams, athletes and allies from Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The first edition of the Games will take place in Perth on August 25-27 2023, alongside Perthshire Pride …

Continue reading LEAP Sports Scotland announce inaugural Qeltic Games to be held in Perth in 2023

Keegan Hirst: “When people make any change that works out well, they wish they could have done it sooner.”

This article features strong language. Of the growing number of LGBTQIA+ athletes in the United Kingdom, Keegan Hirst's story is relatively well known. He fell into Rugby League, never being a sporty child and even being taken unawares by a coach coming to his door claiming to have spoken to his mum about getting him …

Continue reading Keegan Hirst: “When people make any change that works out well, they wish they could have done it sooner.”

Richard Gilbert: “Rugby helps with my mental health, it’s a real solace, so for me lockdown was real.”

It is the nature of inclusive clubs that had Richard Gilbert ahead of many other newcomers when he first joined the Glasgow Raptors by virtue of purely being a fan of rugby. Of course, he never felt like that was the case. By his own admission, he did not know what he was doing the …

Continue reading Richard Gilbert: “Rugby helps with my mental health, it’s a real solace, so for me lockdown was real.”

Luke Harding: “I definitely feel I wouldn’t have engaged in something like a rugby club without some kind of LGBT+ inclusivity or safeguarding.”

It has been a particularly strange year for Glasgow Raptors chair Luke Harding. Taking over the role after the pandemic had already started, to call it a baptism of fire might be being generous. He has had to deal with matches and tournaments being cancelled, being unable to train for long spells and the risk …

Continue reading Luke Harding: “I definitely feel I wouldn’t have engaged in something like a rugby club without some kind of LGBT+ inclusivity or safeguarding.”