“I’D JUST MOVED up to Dublin. I was hating it. Hated Dublin. I love it now! But at the time, I hated it.”
Pauric Cave is recalling the time, three years ago, when he almost gave up his life in the capital, feeling lonely and isolated.
“I’d joined a new job. Didn’t really know anybody. And it was kind of make it or break it at that stage. I was going to quit my job and move home if I didn’t make any new friends.
“Then I went down to the Emerald Warriors. And like that, I’ve two hundred mates,” he says. “Almost too many!”
Emerald Warriors RFC are Ireland’s first LGBTI+ inclusive rugby club. Founded in 2003, the club has grown to three active teams and more than two hundred members. Two of those members - Pauric and club president Richie Fagan – joined us this week for a very special live version of our rugby show The Front Row in partnership with Guinness.
Our panel of Seán Burke, Murray Kinsella and Eimear Considine were also joined by Grand Slam winner Dev Toner and multi-sport phenomenon Lindsay Peat for a look back on Ireland’s record win against England – and a look forward to the GUINNESS SIX NATIONS title decider at the weekend.
Along the way, a packed house at The Camden in Dublin heard how Emerald Warriors are changing the way rugby is played – and perceived.
“Even now,” says Pauric, “when I tell people I’m a rugby player, they’re shocked – like, ‘You don’t look like a rugby player!’” He laughs. “I mean, I suppose I could be wearing a crop top or something at the time.
“But what does a rugby player look like? We’re always told that there’s a position for everybody on the rugby team, so why isn’t there a position for every gender, or every sexuality, or every race on a rugby team, too? That’s what we’re trying to change with the Emerald Warriors.”
The Warriors pride themselves on being a welcoming environment for all newcomers, regardless of their background or experience. And by fielding teams in the Leinster Metro League as well as a number of international competitions – Richie and Pauric arrive into our show bearing the Hadrian Cup, which they’ve just won in Newcastle – the club are battling to change attitudes on and off the pitch.
This has brought plenty of challenges – the pandemic era has brought an increase in homophobic slurring – but there are plenty of reasons for hope too. Like the time an opposing team sent off their own player for homophobic abuse.
“That was brilliant to see. More of that is needed,” says Richie. Pauric agrees. Such incidents send a powerful message, he says – and in a situation where abuse often takes place outside the referee’s earshot, it’s down to individual captains and players in clubs around the country to reinforce it.
“Where there was that homophobic incident on the pitch, and the captain and the rest of the players called that person out – that would have sent shockwaves through that club. That that is just not something that is acceptable any more.”
New episodes of The Front Row, in partnership with Guinness, drop on Mondays after Ireland’s big games. To get the latest episodes in your feed, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. For the rest of our live show – including why England should do it for Johnny, and a pre-match routine involving pancakes – listen here:
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