Boston Ironsides Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Boston, Massachusetts. 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, 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 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, an openly gay rugger and one of the heroes who gave their lives to thwart the terrorist hijackers of United Flight 93 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
Players of the team in 2006
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 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 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 Competition against Rutland Rugby Club, and the other competing in a friendly against the South Shore Anchors 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.
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