Men's Clubs

The Atlanta Bucks took Georgia rugby to the far side of the world this month. On August 22 and 23 the Atlanta club played the Bingham Cup in Brisbane, the biennial world championship of gay and inclusive rugby, and came out of the Challenger Cup bracket with a semifinal to their name.

Pool play was an unsentimental welcome: a 26-14 loss to the Amsterdam Lowlanders and a 10-0 loss to the Chicago Dragons Blue. Then the knockouts turned the weekend over. Drawn against the Dragons a second time in the quarterfinal, the Bucks answered in full and won 19-0 without conceding a point. The semifinal ended the run, a 12-0 loss to New Orleans' Crescent City Rougaroux, who came through the bracket unbeaten and unscored upon.

The Kings Cross Steelers of London took the tournament's top tier, the Bingham Cup itself. But a 19-0 quarterfinal shutout of the side that had beaten you two days earlier is the kind of weekend a volunteer club retells for years. The Bucks are back on home pitches this Atlanta fall, and new players from any background are welcome.

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