Club History



Bristol Bisons Rugby Football Club was established in 2005. A group of friends attended the Bingham Cup that took place in London in the summer of 2004. The Bingham cup brings together gay teams from across Europe and America.

This group was impressed by how the gay rugby fraternity brought together people from different countries and from different walks of life. They felt it was important to share the spirit of gay rugby in Bristol. Once the sponsor was secured, posters promoting the team went out to the gay clubs and venues in Bristol. The team started training in early 2005, and one of its first matches was against a Barbarians teams consisting of players from
Manchester and Bristol.

Bristol Bisons have hosted three tournaments- two spring tournaments in 2006 and 2007 and a 7s tournament as part of Bristol Mardi Gras in 2006.
 

Following a rather quiet spell, the team was successfully relaunched in December 2009. The relaunch was marked by being part of Bristol Pride, where the new promotional posters, postcards and jersey were introduced. Bristol Bisons have secured funding through Sports Relief . Bristol Bisons are a full member of the International Gay Rugby Association (IGRAB) and are affiliate members of the GRFU (Gloucstershire Rugby Football Union).

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Bisons Union Cup History

The Bisons have entered the gay European tournament (Union Cup) four times. In the inaugural Union Cup that took place in Montpellier (2005), the team came 7th. Next Union Cup took place in Copenhagen (2007). The Bisons were a part of a joint team with Cardiff and Newcastle that reached the final and lost to Emerald Warriors. Two years later, London (2009) was the host city and the team won the 7s tournament after a closely-fought final against the Paris team. In 2011 the team entered the Union Cup in Amsterdam and came second in the 10's competition losing out to Los Valents in the final.

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2013 see's the Bison's hosting the Union Cup  in Bristol!

 

Bisons Bingham Cup History
 

Some team members were part of the Cardiff team that entered the Dublin Bingham Cup in 2008.
 

2012 Saw the team join up with New York's Gotham Knights 2nds to create the Golden Bisons at the Manchester 2012 Bingham Cup.