Brisbane Hustlers want to start Australia’s first openly gay and inclusive women’s rugby union team

Michael James 31 March 2022

The Brisbane Hustlers are looking to expand their rugby family and are calling for female rugby players.

As 2022 kicks off the team are looking for expressions of interest for an all-female team in 2023.

If successful it will be the first openly gay and inclusive women’s rugby union team in the country.

Brisbane Hustlers: “Women belong in sport”

Since forming in 2004 the Brisbane Hustlers are known as Brisbane’s premier gay & inclusive rugby team.

After a small hiatus, the team reformed in 2012 and now compete annually in the local Brisbane Suburban Rugby competition.

In ten years the team have gone from strength to strength and pride itself on building a strong and inclusive community through sport.

They have competed both locally in Brisbane and Australia wide but also internationally.

Now the team are looking to expand their sporting family to create an all-female, gay and inclusive team.

In a statement on the group’s Facebook page they said.

“The Brisbane Hustlers are looking to expand our family in 2023.”

“We are seeking expressions of interest to bring onboard Australia’s first openly gay and inclusive women’s rugby union team.”

In order to better understand the needs of those wanting to get involved the team have created an expression of interest form.

The team want to better understand how to approach their audience to help achieve their goals of creating the team.

“Women belong in sport,” the team said.

“We want to understand the barriers that may stop you playing and how we can support you in becoming a Hustler.”

If you are interested in being a part of the team you can find the form online here.

“Rugby is a family”

Jason Garrick, president of The Brisbane Hustlers is passionate about supporting the inclusion of women in the game.

“Women’s rugby is a growing area of the game,” he said.

“The international success of the Women’s 7s game has led the club to start a stakeholder engagement process to see if there is enough interest to kick a team off.”

In the spirit of inclusion on which the club was founded Garrick is passionate about ensuring the inclusion of all women in the game as well.

“We believe we may also be able to bridge a gap for trans women in rugby.””Rugby Australia has a policy of inclusion and we hope to help trans women stay in sport or even return to sport.”

“Rugby is a family and we hope to welcome new people to our family soon!”