Boston Ironsides Rugby Football Club is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

football club based in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The Ironsides play in the New England Rugby Football Union as a Division 4 Men's Team; retaining around 40-60 members (players and supporters) each season. The Boston Ironsides are affiliated with

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

, based in Dublin, Ireland. They are sanctioned by USA Rugby, the governing body for the sport of rugby in the United States. Their Geographical Union is NERFU, the

New England Rugby Football Union The New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) is a Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams in New England. Prior to 2013, NERFU had been a local area union ("LAU"), and part of the Northeast Rugby Union (NRU), which is the governing body for ...

. The Ironsides represent Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire as New England's only competitive and fully accredited member of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board, or IGRAB, headquartered in London, England. IGRAB is an organization that promotes rugby as an inclusive, non-‐discriminatory sport which everyone can play, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, politicalbeliefs, athletic ability, age, physical challenge, mental challenge, or health status. IGRAB organizes the biennial Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament, popularly known as the Bingham Cup, the Rugby World Cup for gay and gay-friendly teams. The Bingham Cup is named for

Mark Bingham Mark Kendall Bingham (May 22, 1970 – September 11, 2001) was an American public relations executive who founded his own company, the Bingham Group. During the September 11 attacks in 2001, he was a passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93. ...

, an openly gay rugger and one of the heroes who gave their lives to thwart the terrorist hijackers of

United Flight 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda attackers aboard the plane on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The plane eventually crashed in Som ...

on September 11, 2001. Since then, the exponential rise of IGRAB in the United States has made rugby the nation's fastest-growing sport in recent years. As one of the original members of IGRAB the Ironsides are proud to be a part of this legacy.

Members

The members of the Boston Ironsides come from diverse backgrounds. Straight, gay, lifelong athletes, newcomers to the sport; accountants, engineers, bartenders, designers, educators, students, physicians and more. Many are native New Englanders, while some come from different parts of the country, and still others hail from all over the world—Canada, Europe, South America, Australia.

History

At the height of American patriotism following the attacks on 9/11, members of New York's Gotham Knights arrived in Boston to begin laying the initial groundwork and recruiting players for a Boston-based gay-friendly rugby club. On July 28, 2002 the Boston Ironsides RFC (Rugby Football Club) was formed. The Ironsides grew rapidly and become competitive in their division. This momentum culminated in May 2006, when the Ironsides won the inaugural Bingham Bowl at the Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Championship. Following a period of inactivity after this achievement, the team began a renewed recruitment effort in early 2010. A dynamic coaching staff and the dedication of key team leaders have revitalized the Ironsides with an energy that can be seen on the pitch. In June 2012 the Ironsides shut out opponents on the first day of competition at the VI

Bingham Cup The Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament or the Bingham Cup is a biennial international, non-professional, gay rugby union tournament, first held in 2002. It is named after Mark Bingham, who died on board United Airlines Flight 93 when it cras ...

in Manchester, United Kingdom and quickly became known as a force to be reckoned with in amateur rugby union. The Ironsides sent several players to the 2014 Bingham cup, and were the first team to register. In 2016 the Ironsides went to Nashville to compete in their Bingham Cup. 2018 took The Ironsides to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

for their Bingham Cup. In Fall of 2019 The Ironsides grew to over 60 members and were able to field two separate teams on the same day. With one team competing in D4

NERFU The New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) is a Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams in New England. Prior to 2013, NERFU had been a local area union ("LAU"), and part of the Northeast Rugby Union (NRU), which is the governing body for ...

Competition against Rutland Rugby Club, and the other competing in a friendly against the

South Shore Anchors The South Shore Anchors Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Weymouth, Massachusetts, United States. The club competes in, and is governed by, the New England Rugby Football Union (their LAU), the Northeast Rugby Union (their TAU), ...

Old Boys. In 2020 The Ironsides were scheduled to compete at the Ottawa Bingham Cup, but due to COVID-19, the tournament, and the season as a whole was cancelled. No rugby competitions were played this year. In 2021 The Ironsides continued onward with the Spring season cancelled due to COVID-19 once again. The team continues its efforts off the field in social engagement and philanthropy while they wait to resume play. In 2022 The Ironsides headed to Ottawa to compete in the rescheduled Bingham Cup. In 2023 The Ironsides, as well as a mixed team with the Village Lions, took 2nd in the Inaugural NORAM Cup.

Press

The Boston Ironsides have been featured in several newspapers over the years.
Bay Windows Article on the 2006 Bingham Bowl win

InNewsweekly Article on the 2006 Bingham Bowl win

Boston.com article on the Boston Ironsides

Improper Bostonian article

Affiliations

USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...

* IGRAB

External links

* {{Massachusetts Sports International Gay Rugby member clubs Ironsides Rugby clubs established in 2001 2001 establishments in Massachusetts LGBT culture in Boston South Boston