Sydney crowned gay rugby world champions

The Sydney Convicts beat the San Francisco Fog 22 to 5 to clinch the 2012 Bingham Cup.

The three-day tournament, which took place between 1st and 3rd June in Manchester, saw 37 teams from 12 countries compete in what is the world championship of gay rugby teams.

Named in honour of Mark Bingham – a gay rugby player who tragically died on United Flight 93 in September 11 – the biennial tournament sees teams from cities rather than countries take part.

The Manchester Bingham Cup was the games’ sixth incarnation and the largest yet with more than 1300 players and supporters attending.

Alex Smith, chair of the Manchester 2012 Bingham Cup organising committee, said: “The Bingham Cup is all about one thing: proving the anyone, regardless of background, can grab a ball and run out onto a rugby pitch. “The Manchester tournament achieved this in spades as we welcomed more players than any other Bingham Cup including teams from Lisbon in Portugal, Stockholm, Melbourne and Nashville, USA.”

Manchester’s gay rugby team – the Village Spartans – achieved sixth place.