Bristol Bisons Rugby Football Club was established in 2005. A group of friends attended

the Bingham Cup that took place in London in the summer of 2004. The Bingham cup

brings together gay teams from across Europe and America.

 

This group was impressed by how the gay rugby fraternity brought together people from

different countries and from different walks of life. They felt it was important to share the

spirit of gay rugby in Bristol. Once the sponsor was secured, posters promoting the team

went out to the gay clubs and venues in Bristol. The team started training in early 2005,

and one of its first matches was against a Barbarians teams consisting of players from

Manchester and Bristol.

 

Bristol Bisons have hosted three tournaments- two spring tournaments in 2006 and 2007

and a 7s tournament as part of Bristol Mardi Gras in 2006.

 

They have entered the gay European tournament (Union Cup) three times. In the

inaugural Union Cup that took place in Montpellier (2005), the team came 7th. Next Union

Cup took place in Copenhagen (2007). The Bisons were a part of a joint team with Cardiff

and Newcastle that reached the final and lost to Emerald Warriors. Two years later,

London was the host city and the team won the 7s tournament after a closely-fought final

against the Paris team.

 

The team has not entered a Bingham competition yet. Some team members were part of

the Cardiff team that entered the Dublin Bingham Cup in 2008.

 

Following a rather quiet spell, the team was successfully relaunched in December 2009.

The relaunch was marked by being part of Bristol Pride, where the new promotional

posters, postcards and jersey were introduced. Bristol Bisons have secured funding

through Sports Relief . Bristol Bisons are a full member of the International Gay Rugby

Association (IGRAB) and working towards becoming full members of the Rugby Football

Union .

 

2009/10 looks like it will be a busy season for Bisons. The first fixture of the season was

a friendly match against Avon and Somerset Constabulary. The team will also enter three

gay rugby tournaments- Rugby Clinic in Edinburgh, Hadrian Cup in Newcastle and the

Union Cup in Amsterdam.