Every two years the Bingham Cup brings LGBTQ+ and inclusive rugby clubs together from around the world, and in 2026 it was Australia’s turn to host — the first time the tournament had been staged in Brisbane, and its first return to Australia since Sydney in 2014.
Named in memory of Mark Bingham, a San Francisco Fog player and one of the heroic passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on 11 September 2001, the tournament pairs serious rugby with the international community spirit that has grown around International Gay Rugby and its clubs. Hosted by the Brisbane Hustlers, Bingham Cup 2026 gathered fifty teams for four days of rugby across the Bingham Cup and the women’s Amanda Mark Cup.
In the days beforehand, players and supporters touched down from all around the globe, reconnecting with friends from previous Bingham Cups and other events on the IGR calendar such as the Union Cup, the NorAm Cup and the Purchas Cup. The week opened with the tournament draw at The Wickham, the IGR AGM at the University of Queensland and an Opening Ceremony at the UQ Centre, before the rugby got under way. It was into this global gathering — fifty teams, 134 matches and a city that gave the event everything it had — that a small combined side from Adelaide and Tokyo arrived to make their mark.
Coming together
The Adelaide University Sharks joined the Tokyo Brats to form the Adelaide – Tokyo Brat-Sharks for the 2026 Bingham Cup in Meanjin Brisbane. From the first meeting, the day before the tournament started, it was clear that it was a great group of players all keen to contribute and make the most of the experience. Due to flight arrival times the whole team couldn’t train together, but those who were there soaked up the information, structure and game plan.
The opening ceremony was the first opportunity for the whole team to gather, and the energy was electric, both excitement and nervousness. This was the first time at a Bingham Cup for the Brats and the first time the Sharks had entered a team. The Bingham veterans who had played for other clubs or barbarian sides were also excited to see what the small team from Adelaide, with our Tokyo teammates, could do at our first real foray at Bingham. Mashup teams haven’t historically had great success. As a new team the Brat-Sharks were entered into the third-tier competition against 14 other teams from Australia, Europe and North America.
Day 1 — Pool games at Norths Rugby Club
The first day saw the Bratty Sharks play two pool games at Norths Rugby Club. The first was against Crescent City Rougaroux. This was a tough-fought game; the Bratty Sharks’ inexperience and lack of time together showed and allowed Rougaroux to score early. The Bratty Sharks spent most of the first half inside their own 22, but a well-worked backs move allowed Jack Whitear to break through the line and link up with speedster Axle Sonnenburg to score our first try for the tournament and tie up the score. Late in the half, Rougaroux managed to get back inside our 22 and force their way over the line; it initially looked to be held up but the try was eventually awarded. This put the Bratty Sharks 7–14 down going into half time. After regrouping at the break, the Bratty Sharks came out with renewed vigour. Axle’s speed again allowed him to beat the defence to score out wide; unfortunately they were unable to convert the try, leaving them 12–14 down. The remainder of the game was a back-and-forth battle. The Bratty Sharks looked to be gaining momentum at times but were unable to capitalise on opportunities and finished the game with no further change to the score, losing by two points but gaining a valuable bonus point for finishing within seven.
The second game on day one was against the hosts, Brisbane Hustlers 2. This was an incredibly physical game; the numerous league converts in the Hustlers side ran hard and straight, making the Bratty Sharks work hard in defence. Still finding their feet, they unfortunately let in a couple of early tries before Axle was able to outrun the defence to score his third try for the day. The second half saw much of the same — tough defence mixed with opportunities from good structure. The Bratty Sharks managed to get into the opposition 22, with Tokyo prop Aaron Pokluda barging over to score his first try of the tournament; this put the Bratty Sharks two points down again after a missed conversion. The Hustlers stepped up again and managed to score another converted try, putting the Bratty Sharks outside the seven-point bonus margin. The Bratty Sharks fought hard, and winger Anthony DeMesa, bursting down the sideline in the closing seconds, looked to be able to snatch another competition point until he was tackled heavily into touch, with the game finishing 21–12. This left the Bratty Sharks with two losses and a single competition point from day one.
Day 2 — A must-win against the Perth Rams
Day two saw the Bratty Sharks play their last pool game at Norths Rugby Club at 11:30 in the morning. Looking at the blowout scores from other pools, a solid win against the Perth Rams White would give us the possibility of scraping into the knockout finals. Again the Bratty Sharks started slowly and let in an early try to the Rams. This put a fire under the players, and the team began to turn it on with two more tries to Axle, another to Aaron, and one each for Gerard Hurles and Shaun Nemes to give the Bratty Sharks a bonus-point win, 33–5. All the team could do now was wait; the remaining games throughout the day would decide if they had done enough to make the finals. The confusing pool system made it difficult to determine what the outcome would be, but by 5pm, while the team recovered in the pool and spa, it finally came through: the Bratty Sharks would be playing in the knockout finals.
Finals — Ballymore Stadium
The first day of finals for the Challenger Cup were played at the home of Australian Rugby, Ballymore Stadium. After two days on the hard, cheese-grater, dust bowl that was Norths Rugby Club, Ballymore was glorious — soft green grass on a firm surface, perfect for playing rugby on. Our first game was against previous Challenger Cup winners, the Dallas Lost Souls. Getting into the finals had changed the Bratty Sharks; a modified warm-up with more emphasis on the defensive side of the ball had them come out firing. The first half was a real battle, the Lost Souls threatening the try line on multiple occasions, but the Bratty Sharks were able to hold them out and regain possession. Consistent teamwork and solid structure allowed the Bratty Sharks to work their way up the field, eventually scoring in the corner off phase play, coach Ryan Nielsen being the benefactor of the team’s efforts.
Game two at Ballymore was against Sydney Convicts 4 on pitch two. The semi-final brought another step up in intensity, but by now the Bratty Sharks were a very different side to the one that had started the tournament. The defensive edge that had served them so well against the Lost Souls was again on show, the team scrambling and holding firm whenever the Convicts threatened. Discipline and structure did the rest, and the Bratty Sharks ground out a hard-earned 12–0 win to book their place in the Challenger Cup final. To keep the opposition scoreless in a knockout final on the second day of finals was a statement of just how far the team had come in a matter of days.
The Challenger Cup Final — a chance for redemption
Sunday brought the Challenger Cup final, and with it a chance for redemption. Standing in the way were the Crescent City Rougaroux — the same side that had edged the Bratty Sharks 14–12 in that opening pool game. There was no better way to finish the tournament than a rematch against the team that had handed us our first loss. The Bratty Sharks were composed and clinical, playing with the confidence of a group that had learned exactly who they were over four days of rugby. This time there would be no late heartbreak: the Bratty Sharks controlled the contest and ran out 19–7 winners to be crowned Challenger Cup champions.
For a mashup team from Adelaide and Tokyo, entered in their first Bingham Cup and written off by the historical odds against combined sides, it was a remarkable turnaround. Two losses on day one had become a Challenger Cup title, and Tokyo’s first-ever appearance at a Bingham Cup ended with silverware. From that first nervous meeting the day before the tournament to lifting the trophy at Ballymore, the Adelaide–Tokyo Brat-Sharks had proved that a small, new team with the right spirit could take on the world — and win.
The social side — more than the rugby
As much as the results mattered, the Bingham Cup has always been about far more than what happens between the whitewash. For the Brat-Sharks, the tournament began socially before it began competitively — that first team meeting the day before kick-off, the nervous energy of the Opening Ceremony, and the simple joy of a brand-new team from two cities and two countries finding its feet together. Between games there were recovery sessions in the pool and spa, shared meals, and the growing camaraderie of a squad that had barely met a week earlier but was quickly becoming a family.
That spirit ran right through the whole event. The sidelines were packed all week, with players, teammates and supporters getting behind every side — the atmosphere around the women’s Amanda Mark Cup in particular was singled out as one of the highlights of the tournament, every game supported in a massive way both on and off the field. Debutants were embraced by the wider community: the First Nations Lorikeets, playing their first-ever Bingham Cup, spoke movingly about being able to “bring our full selves to the game and show what we are all about,” a sentiment that captured the inclusive heart of the whole gathering. For Tokyo’s players, this was also a first Bingham Cup, and being part of that welcome mattered as much as any result.
The week was bookended by celebration. Following the tournament draw at The Wickham and the Opening Ceremony at the UQ Centre, Finals Day on Sunday gave way to a Closing Ceremony in Fortitude Valley, where the eleven trophies were handed out and the whole IGR family came together one last time before the road to the next Bingham Cup — Leeds 2028 — was revealed. For the Brat-Sharks, lifting the Challenger Cup amid that celebration was the perfect end to a week defined as much by the friendships made as by the rugby played.
The wider tournament
Around the Brat-Sharks’ run, the tournament produced drama across all three men’s tiers and the Amanda Mark Cup. In the top tier, the Kings Cross Steelers were imperious, scoring 220 points without conceding across their first four matches before being genuinely tested late on; they lifted the Bingham Cup with a 12–5 win over the Sydney Convicts. The Ottawa Wolves took out the Amanda Mark Cup 33–5 over the Emerald Warriors, and the Bristol Bisons edged the Chicago Dragons 31–26 after extra time in a thrilling Hoagland Cup final. Spare a thought for defending champions Les Gaillards of Paris, beaten 38–0 by the Hustlers in the quarter-finals but resilient enough to reach the Plate final. With fifty teams and 134 matches played out over four days, the Adelaide–Tokyo Brat-Sharks’ Challenger Cup title was a proud entry in a memorable Brisbane tournament.
Tournament results at a glance
Pool – Day 1 v Crescent City Rougaroux - 12–14 Pool – Day 1 v Brisbane Hustlers 2 - 12–21 Pool – Day 2 v Perth Rams White - 33–5 Quarter-final v Dallas Lost Souls Semi-final v Sydney Convicts 4 - 12–0 Challenger Cup Final v Crescent City Rougaroux - Champions - 19–7
Full fixtures and results are available on Rugby Xplorer, the official home of Bingham Cup 2026.
