Bristol Bisons RFC
Bristol Bisons Logo | ||
Union |
RFU GRFU | |
---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | Bisons | |
Founded | 2005 | |
Location | Bristol, England | |
Ground(s) | Cotham Park RFC, Failand,Bristol | |
Chairman | David Aird | |
Coach(es) | Lee Penfold, Mark Fletcher & David Aird | |
Captain(s) | Lee Penfold | |
League(s) | non league | |
| ||
Official website | ||
www |
![](../I/m/Bisons_team_may_2011_cropped.jpg)
Bristol Bisons RFC is an inclusive gay friendly English rugby union club.
Club history
The Bristol Bisons RFC (Bisons) were established in 2005.
They were established following a visit to the Bingham Cup gay rugby tournament in the summer of 2004 in London.
The founders felt that it would be good to spread the messages of an inclusive gay rugby team in the South west.
Training for the newly formed club started early in 2005.
One of the first matches was the Bisons versus a Barbarians side of players from Manchester and Bristol.
By 2009 the club had gone through a quiet spell so it was decided to relaunch the club with new kit and promotional material in December 2009. As part of Bristol Pride 2010 the club promoted itself more visibly particularly on the Bristol gay scene.
During season 2010/2011 the team grew in strength and numbers and now has around 30 regular and occasional players. In 2011, the team took part in Bristol Pride and Swindon Pride.
In July 2011, the team were chosen as hosts for the Union Cup 2013 European Gay rugby tournament.
Tournaments
The following is a list of tournaments held by or attended by the team.
Tournaments Hosted
- 2006 – Spring – Rugby Tournament, Bristol
- 2006 – Rugby 7's tournament at Bristol Gay Mardi Gras
- 2007 – Spring – Rugby Tournament, Bristol
Tournaments Attended
Union Cup
- 2005 Montpellier, France Finished 7th place
- 2007 Copenhagen, Denmark The Bisons were part of a joint team with the Newcastle Ravens and Cardiff Lions that reached the final and lost to the Dublin Emerald Warriors RFC.
- 2009 London, UK 1st in the 7's after a closely fought final against the Paris team
- 2011 Amsterdam, Netherlands 2nd in the 10's tournament behind Montpellier, France.
- 2013 Bristol, UK Bristol Bisons RFC to Host 2013 Union Cup in Bristol, UK.
Bingham Cup
- 2008 Dublin, Ireland Some members of the team played with the Cardiff Lions at the Dublin Bingham Cup in 2008
- 2010 Minneapolis, USA Did not enter competition
- 2012 Manchester, UK Though the team has not entered a Bingham cup competition yet, they will compete at the next Bingham Cup 2012 in Manchester, hosted by the Manchester Village Spartans RFC.
Other
Season 2010 / 2011
- October – Rugby Clinic, Edinburgh, UK 1st place in tournament hosted by Caledonian Thebans.
- March – Hadrians Cup, Newcastle, UK 5th place in tournament hosted by Newcastle Ravens.
Season 2011 / 2012
- October – Rugby Clinic, Edinburgh, UK Winners of tournament.
- Bristol Bisons RFC 33 vs Newcastle Ravens 7
- Bristol Bisons RFC 40 vs Amsterdam Lowlanders 5
- Final : Caledonian Thebans 7 vs Bristol Bisons RFC 21
- April – Hadrians Cup, Newcastle, UK Future fixture
- June – Bingham Cup, Manchester, UK Future fixture
Memberships and affiliations
- Full member of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB)
- Affiliated members of the Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union(GRFU)
- Affiliated members of the Rugby Football Union(RFU)
References
- RFU Bison Host Union Cup 2013
- Pride West Bisons RFC
- GRFU Bisons Join
- GMFA Bisons team
- Rugby League Bison Back world cup bid
- Cardiff Lions – Bisons
- RFU Bisons to host 2013 Union Cup
- Everything Rugby Bisons to Host Union Cup
- JackFM Bristol Bisons to host Union Cup