An oral history of the world’s first gay gby match | RNZ News

Contents:

• CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: FORMER ALL BLACK HOP G OUT WILL 'TAKE AWAY THE STIGMA' OF BEG GAY
• NEW ZEALAND'S GAY AND CLIVE GBY TEAM
• 20 YEARS OF GAY RUGBY NEW ZEALAND TO BE CELEBRATED ANNIVERSARY MATCH
• CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE OUT AS GAY, FORMER ALL BLACKS GBY PLAYER HAS GLOBAL REACH
• CAMPBELL JOHNSON, FORMER ALL BLACKS PRO-RUGBY PLAYER, COM OUT AS GAY
• FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY
• CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: NEW ZEALAND PLAYER FIRST TO E OUT AS GAY
• FORMER ALL BLACK CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE PRAISED AFTER PUBLICLY G OUT AS GAY
• AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY MATCH
• NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: "IN MY HEAD BEG GAY WAS NOT A PART OF THAT IMAGE"
• NEW ZEALAND GBY UNN STAR BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• KIWI DOCUMENTARY EXPLOR CHALLENG FACED BY GAY GBY PLAYERS

CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: FORMER ALL BLACK HOP G OUT WILL 'TAKE AWAY THE STIGMA' OF BEG GAY

As New Zealand's only reprentative natnal gay and clive gby team, recently, the NZ Falns played a pose team the Bgham Cup 2022 held Ottawa, Ontar. Prr to the tablishment of the NZ Falns RFC 2013, New Zealand has had two other gay gby teams which had n both Auckland and Wellgton. Some of those volved the prev teams looked to re-tablish gay gby New Zealand which formed the NZ Falns.

The first gay gby team New Zealand, and the send gay team the world, was Wellgton’s Krazy Knights when kicked off 1998. Notably, the teams played the world’s first gby match between gay gby teams Wellgton October 1998. The team entered the 2014 Bgham Cup, a gay gby world tournament, Sydney and managed to pull off a victory the fal for the Bgham Bowl – a remarkable achievement nsirg this was the team’s first tournament together.

NEW ZEALAND'S GAY AND CLIVE GBY TEAM

2023 also marks 25 years sce gay and clive gby was found and first played New Zealand.

20 YEARS OF GAY RUGBY NEW ZEALAND TO BE CELEBRATED ANNIVERSARY MATCH

[spacer height=”20px”]Established 2013, the New Zealand Falns Rugby Football Club are Aotearoa’s premiere gay and clive gby unn and touch team wh the goal of enablg both aspirg and seasoned players to e together to participate and enjoy gby an open and supportive environment. [spacer height=”20px”]The NZ Falns RFC is one of two gay gby clubs New Zealand, an affiliate wh the New Zealand Rugby Unn (NZRU), and one of 75 worldwi member clubs of Internatnal Gay Rugby (IGR).

Former All Black Campbell Johnstone on g out as gayFormer New Zealand prop Campbell Johnstone hop to "take away the prsure and stigma" after beg the first All Black to e out as 43-year-old, who played three Tts 2005, cid not to e out publicly durg his playg reer but had told his iends and fay. "If I n be the first All Black that out as gay and take away the prsure and stigma surroundg the issue, n actually help other people, " add Johnstone. We want to be clear, no matter who you love, gby has your back, " add Zealand sports mister and former Deputy Prime Mister Grant Robertson, who is gay, also thanked Johnstone for "blazg this trail" and said his announcement was "a big moment".

CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE OUT AS GAY, FORMER ALL BLACKS GBY PLAYER HAS GLOBAL REACH

"In November 2022, Atralian Isaac Humphri beme the send male basketball player to e out as gay while playg after Jason Colls, who me out April 2013. Alai Uned player Josh Cavallo is the only openly gay top-flight male profsnal footballer the world, havg e out as gay October 2021.

Meanwhile, May 2022, Blackpool forward Jake Daniels beme the first openly gay active male profsnal footballer the UK. The Christchurch FC Hero are part of a growg trend of gay and clive gby teams around the world.

Even so, they're only the send gay and clive gby team New Zealand, this spe beg formed as recently as 2018. The Christchurch Hero are a gay and clive gby team – meang they are LGBT iendly – and are associated wh the Christchurch Rugby Football Club, which was formed 1863 and claims to be the olst football club New Zealand and the send olst gby club the world.

CAMPBELL JOHNSON, FORMER ALL BLACKS PRO-RUGBY PLAYER, COM OUT AS GAY

The Hero are Canterbury’s only gay and clive gby team and have jt fished their first season – their fal game was on the day the Csars beat the Lns to w back-to-back Super Rugby champnships - and they celebrated on the followg Friday night wh a functn at the cy’s so, attend by at least 300 people, all of whom left thoroughly entertaed early the next morng after several drag acts, a strip show or two, and, fally a dance party. As a team they are followg the sprig marks of the New Zealand Falns, a gay and clive team associated wh Auckland’s Ponsonby club, but the Hero are fg their own path Christchurch, a cy tradnally seen as extremely nservative.

FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY

But the Hero, who take their posn as role mols extremely serly – knowg they will be sctised by both the gay and straight muni on and off the field – have found that isn’t necsarily the se. It’s about clivy sport and challengg some of those stereotyp; both that the straight and gay muni have had. “What we’ve found sce myself and [fellow manager] Rawa [Karetai] and the team members have been volved is that there’s often the perceptn that there’s this massive amount of homophobia sport… I gus the gay muny and straight muny had their pre-nceptns.

We expected a b more of a backlash or homophobia and th far there hasn’t been – we’ve actually been really well supported by the club. “We did a rearch project a few years ago on homophobia sport wh [human rights foundatn] Kaleidospe Atralia.

CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: NEW ZEALAND PLAYER FIRST TO E OUT AS GAY

In that report shows there is a lot of homophobia sport.

A lot of them haven’t played gby before or they haven’t sce they were que young, and our experienc high school playg for the first XV or send XV, pecially at an all-boys school like myself, wasn’t very nice pecially if you were gay. “We’ve been able to pull down those barriers a very straight world and the club self has said they need for them to have that mix and help provi a safe space for the gay and transsexual muny. There will be some people who will be watchg who don’t feel they intify wh the tradnal gay stereotyp – the glter, the mardi gras, hot pants, that kd of thg – and the are guys who may look at an clive team wh a lot of gay guys and thk, ‘you know what, I’m gay but those are the kds of guys I intify wh’.

We’re offerg an alternative to the tradnal gay stereotype. It , too, the wake of Wallabi star Israel Fol’s beliefs about the ultimate fate of homosexuals which he has spread far and wi on his social media acunts. To thk that I play agast someone that says they'll go to Hell for beg gay disgts me.

FORMER ALL BLACK CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE PRAISED AFTER PUBLICLY G OUT AS GAY

“It is fairly typil of the gay muny – we are all que well nnected and we do tend to help each other out, ” says Rbatch. “The number of sponsors we have… I gus ’s for two reasons – we’re dog somethg that’s que different terms of gettg volved sport which isn’t somethg the gay muny has tradnally been volved and sendly the gay muny tend to look after our own. “We’ve found there are a lot of people wh the gay muny who don’t feel they are nnected to anythg, ” says Rbatch.

AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY MATCH

We’re seeg people who have not nnected wh any of the tradnal groups wh the gay muny who are nnectg wh our team or jog the team.

NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: "IN MY HEAD BEG GAY WAS NOT A PART OF THAT IMAGE"

AdvertisementAuckland’s gay gby team will travel to Wellgton for a game agast the Straight Ups Invatnal XV and mark the begng of gay gby New Zealand.

NEW ZEALAND GBY UNN STAR BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

October’s game will mark 20 years sce the first match between two gay gby teams New Zealand and the world.

The first game between two gay gby teams occurred south Wellgton October 1998. The publicy was about beg able to say y, we’re gay, but we also want to be part of somethg that’s very much a part of our untry’s culture. Twenty years on and the need for gay gby teams is jt as strong, if not stronger than what was 1998.

For most of the time sce that October 1998 game, the Falns remaed New Zealand’s only out gay gby team.

KIWI DOCUMENTARY EXPLOR CHALLENG FACED BY GAY GBY PLAYERS

That changed this year wh the formatn of the Canterbury Hero Christchurch, a signal of gay gby’s ntual rise across the untry.

The importance of gay gby New Zealand over the past 20 years has been two-fold. Speakg to exprs, Ronan Maoilchrn says that the first is obvly about provg a safe and supportive environment for gay men who love the game of gby unn but have prevly not felt fortable playg. Maoilchrn not the close relatnship the Falns have wh the sport’s erng body, New Zealand Rugby and the approach NZR have towards makg gby New Zealand more gay clive.