'If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again' could easily be
the motto for rugby team The Ulster Titans.
Formed in the summer of 2007, the Ulster Titans came from virtually nothing – no
kit, no playing grounds and no teams to play against – to become one of
the most talked about rugby teams in the land. The reason? Because many of the
team's members are gay.
A Queer Try, a new three-part series, follows this group of men as they struggle
to score a single try through to becoming a force to be reckoned with on
the rugby pitch. Against the odds, this motley bunch of guys are determined to
make it as a talented and recognised gay rugby team.
Since forming just over a year ago, The Ulster Titans have gone on to attract
25 members, both gay and straight. Some of the team are very fit and have played
serious rugby with passion for many years. Other members are perhaps not so fit,
but through time have gained both experience and enthusiasm for the game.
This series charts the team's humble beginnings to their search for glory at
The Bingham Cup, an international rugby competition named after Mark Kendall
Bingham, one of the victims of September 11 who was a keen rugby player, playing
for the gay and bisexual rugby team, San Francisco Fog RFC.
But this is not just a story about sport. The cluster of individuals who make
up this team each have their own unique personalities and backgrounds which come
together to make this series a melting pot of stories from a group of remarkable
men who happen to be gay.
A Queer Try follows the team as they try to achieve acceptance in a testosterone-driven
and perhaps even blinkered, world and their journey to the Bingham Cup is a roller
coaster of emotional ups and downs.
We watch the team as they blossom into better players; swap scrums for 'scrumminess'
to hit the catwalk for a fashion show; take part in their first Gay Pride as
a team and then literally get their kit off for the obligatory 'nude' rugby team
calendar! They even became embroiled in some political controversy when Edwin
Poots described the setting up of a gay rugby team as ‘apartheid’.
A Queer Try is a story of blood, sweat and tears but with plenty of laughter,
and perhaps even triumph, thrown in.
Ian Dougan, producer and director of A Queer Try, says: “When I first heard
that Northern Ireland was getting its first gay rugby team, I wasn’t sure
what to expect. But, after spending a lot of time with the team, I realized that
this was going to be something very special. We spent a year with the guys – who
were a real mixture of very different types of men – as they evolved into
a real team.
“Without giving too much away, the experiences of The Ulster Titans, from
kicking a ball around a field to the gay world cup, was beyond what I could have
hoped for. A Queer Try will hopefully challenge the way viewers will perceive
gay men in sport – and will introduce them to a group of great guys and
make their experience on the way to The Bingham Cup one they can also share."
A Queer Try is a Straightforward production for BBC Northern Ireland.
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About the Programme
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