Kia ora

Established in 2013, the New Zealand Falcons Rugby Football Club is New Zealand’s only home of gay and inclusive rugby union and touch teams. Our kaupapa is to enable both aspiring and seasoned players to come together to participate and enjoy rugby in an open and supportive environment.

We’re based at the Ponsonby Rugby Club in central Auckland.

We are not only a sports team. With our dedicated followers and supporters we are a diverse community affecting change within sporting culture in New Zealand society and the world. The team was formed building on the legacy of the former Ponsonby Heroes (1998 – 2004) and has participated throughout various regional and national sports and community campaigns and events, such as the Auckland Pride Festival.

10 years on, the NZ Falcons RFC is still New Zealand’s only gay and inclusive rugby team, an affiliate with the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU), and one of 85 worldwide member clubs of International Gay Rugby (IGR).

Our Location

We are based in Auckland but have players from right across the country, even as far as Wellington and Canterbury.

For both rugby union and touch rugby, we train at the Outer Fields of Western Springs Park near the Ponsonby Rugby Club clubrooms in winter, and at Cox’s Bay in summer – so there are opportunities to join the club within the midst of the seasons; contact us for further details.

Rugby Union:
The season begins from March and usually runs until September. We play in the Presidents social grade of the regional Senior Men’s Rugby competition administered by the Auckland Rugby Union; Purchas Cup, a trans-Tasman biennial competition; and Bingham Cup, a worldwide competition with 85 other IGR member clubs. Our games are usually held on Saturday afternoons throughout Auckland, with home games at either Cox’s Bay Reserve or Western Springs Stadium Field.

As New Zealand’s only representative national gay and inclusive rugby team, recently, the NZ Falcons played in a composite team in the Bingham Cup 2022 held in Ottawa, Ontario. Our next international tournaments scheduled is Bingham Cup Rome 2024 in Italy.

Touch Rugby:
Since 2020 the New Zealand Falcons had teams in both the summer and winter touch rugby seasons. We play in the social grade of the regional Senior Men’s and Mixed touch rugby competition administered by the Auckland Touch Association. Our games are usually held on Monday nights in Newmarket or Victoria Park. This is often a great way to try the basics of rugby, get fit and gradually transition into contact-15’s union.