HADRIAN CUP MMXXII

Newcastle Ravens RFC will be hosting their annual Hadrian Cup on Saturday 12th March. Now in its biggest year ever – 24 Union teams will be travelling from around the UK to play ten-aside Rugby and for the first time ever 10 Touch Rugby teams will be battling it out to win the competition. 

The competition will be hosted at Percy Park RFC in North Shields.

The 2020 event was a huge success when it was held in March 2020 prior to the first national lockdown. It was the largest 10s tournament that happened in the UK in 2020 and one of the few largescale IGR (International Gay Rugby) events that took place during the year as a result of the pandemic.

Newcastle Ravens RFC were founded in May 1st 2006 with the aim to encourage gay people to take part in sport. That same year they were admitted to the International Gay Rugby Association and Board, now IGR, and they are still the only inclusive rugby club for LGBT people and allies in the North East. 

Over the year, they have played international tournaments in Madrid, Amsterdam and Dublin – often winning trophies. During the early stages of the pandemic, Union Rugby was prohibited so the Ravens set up a Touch Rugby team which has continued to flourish and become a permanent fixture within the club which is why they are introducing a Touch element to the Hadrian Cup tournament.

The Union tournament will welcome many other IGR teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Touch tournament will have eight IGR teams from the UK as well as local teams Alnwick Touch and the Percy Park Pirates.

Bas Olthof-Bakker, Chair of the Newcastle Ravens said “We’re incredibly excited to have the Hadrian Cup return this year bigger and better. We’re looking forward to welcoming many IGR players back to Newcastle for the first time in two years and to show new players what a fantastic city we have”.

The tournament will be attended by local representatives such as Nick Forbes, Northumbria Police, Tyne and Wear Fire Rescue and Northern Pride.