October 3, 2003

AS THE Chase-the-Egg World Cup is under way over in Sheila-Land, it's about time I returned to Planet Earth and took a look at a sport that doesn't involve squirrels, food or engines of some sort. So it's rugby this week - but I'm not hanging round the damp valleys of Wales, oh no. I'm off to San Francisco for this one.

San Francisco Fog is a rugby club with a difference. It was created specifically for gay and ethnic men. The website (sffog.org/) goes to great pains to point this out on its mission statement, and it's not surprising the founder decided on this course of action after he had to leave his previous club thanks to the Neanderthal homophobic attitudes of his ex-teammates.

One thing you notice about SF Fog's site is the amount of effort that's been put into it. It's always infuriating to find a club website that just screams "ignore the lack of content, just look at the pretty pictures", and I'm glad to say this definitely isn't one of them.

SF Fog have crammed their corner of the net full of everything you'd like to know about them, from how to join, the rules of rugby (a bit of light reading, no doubt), to highlighting the club's community work. Probably the most striking aspect of the club is how much they really want players to join - and it's not for lack of numbers.

There's also a note of tragedy, too. Mark Bingham, one of the club's players, was on board the hijacked plane that crashed near Pittsburgh on September 11. There are some moving tributes to Mark on the site and the club set up an annual tribute match to him. And the name "Fog"? Take a look at the pictures and you'll see that California isn't all sun and sand...