London has one gay rugby union club with 30 years behind it, one that IGR lists from 2019, and three touch sides where nobody tackles anybody. All five are in the International Gay Rugby network. This is who trains where, what it costs, and how a complete beginner gets on the pitch this month.
Kings Cross Steelers RFC
Founded on 1 November 1995 at Central Station, a gay pub in Kings Cross, and the world's first gay and inclusive rugby union club. In their 30th anniversary year they won the Bingham Cup, the world championship of gay and inclusive rugby, 12 to 5 against the Sydney Convicts in Brisbane on 23 August 2026. That is their second; the first was Ottawa in 2022.
Home is Memorial Park, 71 Holland Road, E15 3BP, five minutes from West Ham station. Training is Tuesday and Thursday, 7pm to 8.30pm. Four men's XVs plus an old boys' side, the Mammoths. For 2026/27 the 1st XV is in Counties 2 Essex (London and South East division, level 8), first league game Friday 25 September against Upminster; the 2nd XV is in the Essex Merit League Division 3; the 3rd XV plays in the IGR UK league, South 2 division; the 4th XV, formed in 2015/16, plays development fixtures and IGR friendlies.
Never played? Pathway to Rugby is a 12-week programme for people who have not, twice a week, ending with a full game in December. It has run every season since September 2015, when 85 people turned up to the first one, and is open to everyone irrespective of gender. The 2026 intake is under way: sessions listed for Tuesday 8 and 15 September at 7pm and Saturday 12 September at 12.30pm. Email pathway@kxsrfc.com or fill in the form on the Pathway page.
Full playing membership for 2026/27 is £240, which covers shorts, socks, all match fees and the club physio, and can be spread over up to ten monthly payments of £24. Students pay £120. Experienced players email recruitment@kxsrfc.com or use the joiner form on the Join page and get invited to a training session to try out.
Women: the Steelers do not run a women's side. Their partner club, the East London Vixens, trains on the same ground Monday and Wednesday, 6.45pm to 8.30pm, plays in Women's NC 1 South East (North), and takes complete beginners. Contact women@eastlondonrfc.com.
The London Stags RFC
South London's gay rugby club, listed by IGR from 2019, based at Mitcham and Carshalton Rugby Club, Peterborough Road, Carshalton, SM5 1EE. Saturday training is 11am to 1.30pm at Carshalton, union and touch together. Midweek sessions are on Clapham Common, south side, 7pm to 8.30pm, with Wednesday and Thursday dates in the September calendar. One men's union XV and one mixed-gender touch side. The XV played IGR UK South 2 last season and the Steelers' 3rd XV has them down as a league fixture on 10 October 2026, so expect the same division.
The beginner route is New Members Day, run twice a year. The next is Saturday 12 September 2026: arrive 10.30am, taster session 11.30am, snacks after, free, bring trainers and a water bottle. If you like it, Kickoff, their four-week beginner programme, starts straight afterwards, so you join regular training in week five. The touch version follows in October.
Membership 2026/27: £110 full (training, matches, tours), £82.50 training and recreational, £33 supporter. Email membership@thelondonstagsrfc.com or message @thelondonstagsrfc.
East End Electric
The Steelers' official touch rugby partner, started by union players who wanted to keep fit over summer and now four mixed teams at the same Memorial Park ground in West Ham: the Volts in league 1 and the Amps in league 2 of the IGR Southern Touch Series, the Joules and the Watts for people starting out. Training is Wednesday 7pm to 8.30pm and Saturday 11am to 12.30pm, and the Wednesday listing includes an Intro to Touch group.
Their own Pathway to Rugby runs for the first few weeks of the season and costs £20. Membership for 2026 is £100, you do not have to commit until you have been to more than two sessions, and the £20 comes off it. Message @EastEndElectric on Instagram or use the form on their team page.
Clapham Feelers
The oldest touch side, started in July 2015 by six people in the park and now over 50 players, and calling itself London's first gay touch rugby team. They play on Clapham Common at the big tree next to the basketball courts, nearest station Clapham Common: Saturdays at 10.15am all year round, Wednesdays at 6.30pm while the light lasts. There is no membership fee at all. Boots with plastic studs are required. Turn up, or download Spond and register with code ZYETT to see who is going each week. Email ClaphamFeelers@gmail.com.
West London Warriors
Mixed-gender, mixed-ability touch in Chiswick, part of the West London Queer Project, playing in the IGR Touch South Series. Their page says weekly open sessions run Saturdays 10.30am to 12 noon at Homefields Recreation Ground: register on the WLQP events page and turn up. Do message info@wlqp.org first. The project's own calendar, read on 10 September 2026, runs seven weeks ahead to the end of October and lists football, yoga, spin, socials, a book club, a film club and a walk, and no touch rugby at all. What is definitely running in west London is their Monday all-gender football session at White City.
Which one
Want to tackle and be tackled: the Steelers if you can get to West Ham on a Tuesday, the Stags if you are south of the river. The Steelers cost more than double the Stags (£240 against £110) and give you four teams to move between; the Stags give you a free taster on 12 September and a four-week course before anyone asks for money.
Want to run and pass without contact: Clapham Feelers on a Saturday morning has no fee and has been going for eleven years. East End Electric is the one with a proper league ladder. The Warriors are the west London option once you have confirmed they are on.