Newcastle Ravens

Newcastle Ravens Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The team was organised to help encourage gay people to take part in the sport. Dave Burke, who is the current chairman, founded the team in 2006 and it is run by a board of five elected members. The Ravens were admitted as members of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board in 2006.

Union Cup
The Ravens sent players to the 2007 Union Cup tournament in Copenhagen and played as part of the Cardiff Lions team. The combined squad recorded victories over NOP Amsterdam Rugby Club (35-5), Malmö Devilants (30-5 and 35-0) and the Caledonian Thebans RFC (5-25), drawing with the Emerald Warriors 10-10 on the way. The squad missed out in a tense final in Copenhagen to the Emerald Warriors RFC (10-5) after extra time.

Newcastle Falcons Corporate Rugby
The club participated in the 2007 Newcastle Falcons Corporate Rugby Tournament. The Ravens had Falcons and England rugby team player Mathew Tait in their squad for the event, during which they achieved a draw and two losses.

Caledonian Thebans Rugby Clinic
The Ravens attended the Caledonian Thebans RFC rugby clinic in both 2006 and 2007. The 2007 tournament was capped with a mini 7s tournament and 15s game. The Ravens achieved a 3-1 win over the Thebans and a 0-0 draw with the Cardiff Lions.

The Future
The club will be hosting a 7s tournament in February and are also looking forward with the 2008 Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament in Dublin. The club also has ambitions to start competing in the Northumberland League for the 2009/2010 season.