The Washington Renegades is a Division III rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 club based in Washington D.C.. Established on October 24, 1998 by Mark Hertzog, the Washington Renegades was the first men's rugby club in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to actively recruit gay men

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

 and men of color.

In October 1999, the club played its first 15s match against the Roanoke Rugby Football Club. In July 2000, the team competed in a sevens tournament held in London, England against teams from London and Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. In May 2001, the club held its inaugural International Rugby Invitational, which included teams from San Francisco, Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

. Also attending were individual players from Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, London and Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

. In 2002 and 2004, the club participated in the IGRAB Rugby Festival and Mark Bingham Cup, named for former UC Berkley and San Francisco Fog RFC rugby player Mark Bingham

Mark Bingham

Mark Kendall Bingham 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...

, who died on September 11, 2001.

External links

• Washington Renegades Rugby Football Club
• IGRAB the International Gay Rugby Union & Board Site
• Article about the club in Washington, DC magazine "Metro Weekly"
• Observer Sport Monthly article on gay rugby, mentions Renegades in discussion of international phenomenon
• "Rugby Players: For the Love of the Game, and a Party", Washington Post article
• "Joining in the Scrum: On This Rugby Team, Winning Is The Last Thing", Washington Post article