“We don’t class ourselves as a gay team,” Stevie Harris declares. “We class ourselves as an inclusive team.”

Wrecsam Rhinos is a rugby union club for all, located in North Wales but open to all of the surrounding communities with a mission to offer a warm and welcoming environment to all who attend.

It was set up by Harris and Ben Boxy in 2022 and, fittingly, has gone from strength to strength.

“We have people from literally every sort of background and sexuality and people with learning disabilities,” Harris adds.

“We are aimed at making sports accessible to everyone we can, especially if they wouldn’t feel comfortable in that mainstream setting.”

Both Harris and Boxy had faced negative situations at clubs they’d previously been part of. It was these experiences which spurred them on to make sure that the club ethos, their training sessions and match environment are accessible for all.

“Our coaches have all been on inclusivity courses, so myself and Ben, we have a committee that is quite diverse,” Harris continues. “So again, if there is something that someone like myself wouldn’t catch or doesn’t understand, there is someone there that would.

“We had a young boy join us about a year into our existence who was severely autistic and had sensory issues with touch.

“We’ve worked with him very slowly, we’ve adapted training sessions so that we aren’t as heavy on one-to-one contact. When we started, we used bags a lot more, we used tackle sausages, and everything else so he could still get the techniques.”

Education is something that Harris and the Wrecsam Rhinos have always held as central importance to them being inclusive. But they operate outside their own touchline too, engaging with and advising other clubs seeking to become more inclusive themselves.

Part of Sported’s network of almost 250 community-based groups throughout Wales, the Rhinos are an affiliated club of International Gay Rugby (IGR) and play in the Merit North IGR UK League against teams in North Wales and Northern England.

“We are looking to host a tournament at the end of summer,” Harris reveals. “This would be the first IGR affiliated tournament in Wales.

“With it being 40 years of Pride in Wales this year, it’s a good year to do it, but it’s also Wrexham where we’re based, the centennial of rugby being in Wrexham, so we feel like it’s a really good year to do it.”

The club have also got growth and expansion on their mind, he adds.

“We’ve got enough players for a first team with subs, we’re getting close to numbers to be able to have a second team which will be our development team, and we’re also in talks about starting a youth team, but that will be a long, long way off yet.”

Sported can support your organisation connect to partners, initiatives and opportunities, and collaborate with others to understand considerations for LGBTQ+ people in sport and physical activity.

Join Emma Jones, Sported’s Inclusion Officer for North Wales, for an online session each month to discuss the latest developments in LGBTQ+ sport. February saw see Emma joined by Verity Smith, rugby player and LGBTQ+ activist.

You can sign up to March’s edition on the Sported Hub by clicking here