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Flying Falcons "gave it everything"

Mon 1 Sep 2014 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA

The New Zealand Falcons will be staggering home from Sydney full of pride after proving they were truly the dark horses in their first ever Bingham Cup. A team which included many players new to rugby and other hardy souls who have played for decades, took out the second tier Bingham Bowl with a 25 to 19 win over the Emerald Valkyries, mixture of players from Dublin and New England. In a man of the match performance, the New Zealand Falcons' centre scored a hat trick for the winning team. New Zealand Falcons captain Jeremy Brankin says while the win is a bonus the real rush is playing for his country. “I couldn’t ask more from the boys we just gave it absolutely everything out on the field. It has been an amazing tournament. Playing for New Zealand is what puts a tingle down my spine. It’s awesome playing for your country and representing not only your country but the queer community there.” The Brisbane Hustlers played the Falcons in the pool rounds and captain John Blunt says they were “really the dark horse of this competition and lived-up to their country’s reputation for playing some intense, high quality rugby.” Australia and New Zealand dominated in the finals, with the Sydney Convicts taking top honour the Bingham Cup in a rout of the Hustlers, and the Melbourne Chargers nabbing the Bingham Plate. The largest-ever crowd, estimated around 6,000, came to watch the grand finals, including CEO of Australian Rugby Union Bill Pulver who at the start of the tournament announced new policies to address homophobia. Bingham Cup President Andrew Purchas, an out gay rugby player and founder of the Sydney Convicts, says it was a very successful three days. He says now that it’s over the Sydney Convicts, will continue their focus on ensuring Australian sporting organisations fulfil a commitment to implement policies to eliminate homophobia and make sport welcoming for everyone regardless of their sexuality. “We had a vision to put on more than a rugby tournament when we decided to host the Bingham Cup and we wanted to shine a spotlight on the issues of homophobia in sport. This work will continue both in Australia and around the world. For example, later this year we will announce results of the first study on homophobia in sport and the largest study ever done, called Out on the Fields, which we commissioned.” It will soon be New Zealand’s turn to show hospitality, with the Falcons set to host the trans-Tasman Purchas Cup in in Auckland next year. Meanwhile Auckland's Urge Bar will host a welcome home event for the Falcons on Saturday. Details here Grand Finals Results: Tier 1 Teams Bingham Cup: Sydney Convicts A beat Brisbane Hustlers 31 to 0 Bingham Plate: Melbourne Chargers beat San Francisco Fog 31 to 10 Tier 2 Teams Bingham Bowl: NZ Falcons beat Dublin’s Emerald Valkyries 25 to 19 Bingham Shield: Sydney Convicts C beat Chicago Dragons 12 to 5      

Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff

First published: Monday, 1st September 2014 - 4:17pm

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