Club history
The Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents were formed on 4 November 2015 at a meeting at the Camelford Arms pub in Kemptown, Brighton, [1] to give gay and bisexual men the opportunity to play rugby in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Season 2015/2016
The Sea Serpents played their first match against the 4th XV of London's gay and inclusive rugby club, the Kings Cross Steelers, on 20 February 2016 at Hove Recreation Ground, losing by 25 points to 0. [2] Over the next two months during March and April 2016, the Sea Serpents played a return match in London against the Steelers' 4th XV, [3] an away match against the Birmingham Bulls, [4] and were admitted as members of International Gay Rugby (IGR. [5] )
Season 2016/2017
The Sea Serpents kicked off their second season in existence with a summer touch rugby tournament in Birmingham organised by the Birmingham Bulls - Touch My Brum 2016. [6] During the tournament the club registered their first ever win, a 2-1 victory against the Amsterdam Lowlanders. [7] The club continued to play friendly matches against other IGR teams, [8] [9] and local Sussex teams. The Sea Serpents registered their first win in a full XVs match on 21 January 2017 against the Reading Renegades, a 37-3 victory, including 7 tries, also witnessed by the Mayor of Brighton & Hove. [10] At the end-of-season Union Cup in Madrid, the Sea Serpents caused quite an upset by winning all of their group matches in the third-tier Union Bowl and making the Gold Final ahead of their closest rivals Kings Cross Steelers IV, the more established Bristol Bisons and Manchester Village Spartans III and the newly formed Munich Monks. They lost in the final to French side Rebelyons, finishing runners-up in their first international tournament. [11]
Season 2017/2018
Once again the Sea Serpents kicked off their season with a trip to the Birmingham Bulls touch rugby tournament finishing in the middle tier competition, a level above the previous year. The club was accepted into the Sussex Leagues and are competing in the Sussex Division 4 East against 9 other teams home and away. [12] Their first league match was on 9 September 2017 against Heathfield & Waldron III at Hove Recreation Ground, the visitors winning 58-12. Their first league win came at the end of the season on 28 April 2018 against East Grinstead III in a double header match with the Sea Serpents winning 33-31. [13]
Season 2018/2019
The Sea Serpents were moved to the West division of the Sussex League's Division 4. After registering three losses, they won their 4th match of the season away at Burgess Hill by 62-12. [14]
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