An update on day two of play - and video highlights of Day 2 from the Bingham Cup, featuring a few familiar Falcons' faces! (Some a little worse for wear!) What a pass! Picture / Leif Wauters. From the Bingham Cup team: NZ Falcons player Karl Wilshier looks as though he has been playing rugby for his entire life but he only piled into his first ruck in April this year. The flanker has been magic on the field, although his team the New Zealand Falcons have had only a steady start to the Bingham Cup - the world cup for gay rugby players. So far the Kiwi side has defeated the Manchester Spartans 22-0 but has had close defeats to the San Francisco Fog (11-8) and the Brisbane Hustlers (24-14). But it’s not all about the results according to likable Wilshier. Initially dragged along to play by a friend for his first game in only April this year, he is now disappointed that he never started earlier. “It has absolutely sucked me in – this team has held me up and brought me up in a really profound way. Although rugby is a religion in New Zealand I somehow allowed myself to think that it was a sport I could never play,” explained Wilshier. “But I now have an amazing team who have made me feel powerful and supported. Finding something crazy and out of the blue like rugby was exactly what I needed for this stage of my life. The Falcons inoculated the Phever. Picture / Leif Wauters. Wilshier said the Bingham Cup, a tournament which has attracted 1,000 players and supporters from around the world, has been a special experience so far. “I actually wondered before I came here, what does gay rugby actually mean? But seeing the opening ceremony and this intersection of race, religions and sexuality was fantastic. There is something very beautiful about our differences.” The knockout stages and then the grand final of the Bingham Cup continue today. The Falcons play the Royal Bucks at 11.50 New Zealand time for a spot in the Bingham Bowl final. The Royal Bucks are a mixture of the Charlotte Royals and the Atlanta Bucks GayNZ.com with Bingham Cup staff - 31st August 2014
Credit: GayNZ.com with Bingham Cup staff
First published: Sunday, 31st August 2014 - 8:03am