Club Finder

Caledonian Thebans RFC

Rugby in Edinburgh

About the club

We welcome players of any age (18+ only), regardless of experience or knowledge.

When we meet

  • Team training sessionThursday 6:00pm
    Roseburn Park, Edinburgh
  • Team training sessionSaturday 11:45am
    Caledonian Thebans Rugby Football Club are Scotland's first - and currently only - gay-friendly rugby club. We participate in the Union Cup (a biennial European, non-professional, gay rugby union tournament) as well as the Bingham Cup (an international gay "world cup" and the largest rugby union tournament in the world). Our members and players come from all over Scotland, including Fife and Glasgow. The Club started in May 2002 when Colm Cunningham, a gay man from Northern Ireland, put up a poster in the Laughing Duck (a now-defunct Edinburgh gay bar). The name is a reference to the Sacred Band of Thebes; an elite and highly successful military unit in the Royal Theban Army of ancient Greece, which was made up of male couples. The Sacred Band of Thebes was completely annihilated, however, by Alexander the Great under Philip II of Macedon in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. Since its beginnings the Club has aimed to provide the means and facilities for gay and bi men and their supporters, who are serious about playing rugby or learning the game, to do so in a safe and supportive environment. The team is primarily aimed at gay and bisexual men but is open to men of any sexuality. The Thebans are affiliated to the Scottish Rugby Union, Edinburgh and District Rugby Union, and are part of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board. Roseburn Park, Edinburgh
  • Cost

    Playing members: £100
    New non-student members: £50
    Students/ unemployed: £50
    Supporters: £20

Roseburn Park
Roseburn Terrace
Edinburgh
EH12 5NG

Contact

Paul Gardiner, Membership & Supporters Secretary
membership@thebans-rfc.co.uk