The Gay Rugby Podcast

Why Tokyo’s LGBTQ+ Rugby Club Struggles to Recruit Japanese Players We sat down with Daniel, founder of the Tsurumi Brats, during the 2026 Bingham Cup in Brisbane, Australia, to talk about the unique challenges of building an LGBTQ+ rugby community in Japan. Tsurumi Brats are a Tokyo-based inclusive rugby club, and Daniel explains why Japanese and foreign rugby communities have often remained sepa...

What happens when straight men join a gay rugby team? We sat down in Brisbane with James Morey, president and captain of the Sydney Convicts, to talk about why straight men are choosing gay rugby, what makes an LGBTQ+ rugby team different, and why the Convicts have become one of the biggest names in inclusive rugby. James has been playing rugby since he was eight and joined the Sydney Convicts in...

The Lorikeets are Australia's indigenous gay rugby teamWe came to Brisbane for the Bingham Cup 2026 and ended up sitting down with Darren from the First Nations Lorikeets: a brand-new rugby club creating something that didn’t exist before in Australian gay rugby. The Lorikeets are an LGBTQ+ rugby team for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, built around culture, community, visibility...

We sat down with comedian and actor Chris Grace to talk about something that, on the surface, seems pretty simple: is rugby actually worth getting hurt for? Chris has broken both of his ring fingers, dislocated a rib, broken his arm and developed arthritis in his knees from playing tighthead prop. And yet, when we asked if he regrets it, his answer was pretty definitive: no. That led us into a muc...

On the second day of the Bingham Cup, we casually spotted the Brisbane Hustlers' mascot. The Hustlers were hosting the tournament, and we knew exactly what the mascot game was about. We started thinking about whether we could get close enough to steal it. Then we noticed there were children around. And a dog. And while we really wanted the mascot, we didn't particularly want to be responsi...

For this episode of the Gay Rugby Podcast, Jack and Ozzie flew from Los Angeles to New Orleans for less than 24 hours to experience Swamp Romp, one of the biggest weekends in gay rugby. We landed, grabbed our gear, spent the day playing rugby, filmed interviews from the sidelines between matches, and caught one of the most unexpectedly hilarious conversations of the weekend. Jack and Ozzie laced u...

Who should host the Bingham and Amanda Mark Cup Rugby Tournament in 2028?Subscribe to the Gay Rugby Podcast! https://shorturl.at/OztS0The race to host the Bingham Cup 2028 is officially underway, and the competition is fiercer than ever. In this episode of the Gay Rugby Podcast, we dive into all six official Bingham Cup 2028 bids to answer one question: Which city should host the world's premi...

Should kink be allowed at Pride? It's one of the biggest debates in the LGBTQ+ community and we're diving into it without holding back. In Episode 54 of the Gay Rugby Podcast, Jack Higgins and Ozzie Luna celebrate Pride Month while tackling some of the most controversial conversations happening in queer culture today. From leather culture and pup play to family-friendly Pride events, LGBTQ...

What started as a lighthearted attempt to call out our guest quickly turned into one of the most honest conversations we've had on the Gay Rugby Podcast. This week, we're joined by Big Dipper, co-host of the Sloppy Seconds podcast, musician, comedian, and one of the most recognizable voices in queer media. We finally confront him about comments he made regarding gay rugby, but what follows is a mu...

Do Rugby Teams Shower Together? Comedian Joseph Schles joins The Gay Rugby Podcast! Subscribe to the Gay Rugby Podcast! https://shorturl.at/OztS0Most people who have never played rugby have the same question: do rugby teams actually shower together after a match? After a recent trip to Barcelona, Jack finally has an answer. In this episode of the Gay Rugby Podcast, Jack and Ozzie unpack what it wa...

Has queer visibility gone too far? In Episode 51 of the Gay Rugby Podcast, queer pop artist Zee Machine joins us for an honest conversation about LGBTQ visibility, representation in media, and whether increased visibility has helped the community or made LGBTQ people a bigger target in today's political climate. Zee Machine shares his journey growing up in Hong Kong, discovering music, and bui...

Why do gay men love bald, grumpy guys? On Episode 50 of the Gay Rugby Podcast, we sit down with Emmy-nominated filmmaker, artist, and content creator Marquis the Honeybear to unpack attraction, confidence, masculinity, body politics, and the psychology behind “types” in gay dating culture. Marquise the Honeybear is known for blending comedy, queer storytelling, and conversations around Black queer...

Gay rugby players play would you rather on the latest podcast episode! Subscribe to the Gay Rugby Podcast! https://shorturl.at/OztS0In Episode 49 of The Gay Rugby Podcast, a group of gay rugby players sit down to play Would You Rather and it gets honest fast. What starts as a simple game turns into a series of uncomfortable choices, unexpected takes, and moments that say more than anyone planned t...

What is a “Side” | Gay dating terminology explained by gay rugby playersThis episode starts with a question that’s been showing up more in dating conversations and apps lately: what does it actually mean to be a “side”? We break down the basics of “top,” “bottom,” and the newer term “side,” which refers to guys who are into intimacy, but don’t include bottom or top in what they want. We talk about...

Michael Henry on why Gay Culture is a delicate ecosystemSubscribe to the Gay Rugby Podcast! https://shorturl.at/OztS0What happens if you try to delete part of gay culture and who actually gets to decide what stays? In Episode 47 of the Gay Rugby Podcast, recorded in Los Angeles, we sit down with comedian Michael Henry and pull on that thread. What starts as a simple question turns into a wide-open...

What does it mean when you don’t believe in God, but still find yourself asking for forgiveness anyway? In this episode of The Gay Rugby Podcast, comedian Matt LeGrand joins the conversation to talk about spending 20 years as a missionary, unpacking religion, identity, and what happens when belief systems start to fall apart but the habits remain. They get into religious conditioning, guilt, sexua...

Episode 45 of the Gay Rugby Podcast gets into a side of queer culture that people see online all the time but rarely hear explained by the people actually living it. We sat down with Pup Odie and Pup Hex, both rugby players, to talk about what pup play really is and how they found their way into the pup community. The conversation starts simple — what is pup play, what does puppy play actually mea...

A year ago, we sat down to record the first episode of the Gay Rugby Podcast without really knowing what it would become. Twelve months later, we found ourselves in Boston for the NORAM Cup, in New Orleans for Swamp Romp, at LA 7s during Pride weekend, and in Palm Springs with a camera bag, a couple microphones, and a growing list of people we were lucky enough to meet along the way. Episode 44 is...

Drag Queen La Mama Dora opens up about her past playing rugby, long before she was going viral on TikTok as a chaotic, hilarious take on Dora the Explorer. In this episode, La Mama Dora tells the story of how a former club rugby player became one of the internet’s favorite drag queens, building an audience through drag TikTok, LGBTQ comedy, and her now-iconic Dora impression. We talk about what it...

Bradley Johnson is about to have a very public week. With Hulu’s new reality dating show Love Overboard set to drop, his audience is getting a lot bigger and a lot more curious about what he’s been posting online. In this episode, we sit down with Bradley in the middle of that moment. What starts as a conversation about fitness content quickly turns into something else: a look at how certain audie...

Every gay guy who’s spent time on Grindr has seen it, the bios that immediately make you pause, laugh, or close the app. In this episode of the Gay Rugby Podcast, Jack Higgins and Ozzie Luna talk through some of the worst things people put in their Grindr bios, the profile lines that have somehow become normal on gay dating apps, and the small details that turn a profile into an instant red flag....

In Episode 40 of the Gay Rugby Podcast, Jack Higgins and Ozzie Luna face off in a Heated Rivalry Heads Up challenge. The game is simple: guess the name on the screen before the timer runs out. In reality, it turns into chaotic clues, missed guesses, and plenty of rugby banter. The challenge is inspired by the popularity of Heated Rivalry, the bestselling sports romance novel by Rachel Reid from th...

On Friday, March 27th, at the Swamp Romp Rugby Tournament in New Orleans, we recorded this episode live on the ground as the conversation around USA Rugby’s new gender eligibility policy unfolded in real time. USA Rugby has updated its transgender athlete policy, creating a new competitive structure that effectively removes trans women from the Women’s Division and shifts participation into an ope...

In Episode 38 of the Gay Rugby Podcast, we dive into the messy reality of gay dating culture, dating apps, and the strange loneliness that can creep in even when you’ve never had more access to other people. With endless swiping, DMs, open tabs, and options everywhere, real connection can start to feel harder to hold onto. We talk about the shift from organic meet-cutes to algorithm-driven attract...

Episode 37 of The Gay Rugby Podcast dives into Bad Bunny’s 2026 Super Bowl halftime show from a hot tub. Filmed the week after the Patriots vs. Seahawks game, this episode turns into a full conversation about the performance and the reaction from the Latinx community, especially what it meant for fans who felt represented on that stage. Ozzie talks about what it was like watching the performance g...