They are the last steps for the Amsterdam Lowlanders. At the end of next week they will travel to Oslo for the Union Cup, the European Championship for Regenboog teams. At the Bingham Cup, the world championship, the team achieved a handsome sixteenth place in 116 teams last year. A great achievement, says head coach Maurizio IJzerman. “When I joined it, ten years ago, we were not good at all. In Oslo 50 teams are participating. We go for the top 8.”
IJzerman is fully involved in practicing different game scenarios during the team runs. He storms forward and throws the ball diagonally backwards to a teammate – throwing ahead is forbidden in the rugby sport. If the attack fails and it ultimately does not come to a try (the ball is placed behind the back line, good for five points), he will immediately comment. “You’re not going to throw that ball over anyone, honey?!”
The team walks quietly back a bit to be back. A player wears a shirt with ‘Beyonce’ on the back, another man opted for ‘Trophy Wife’. In addition to the field, a rainbow flag is waving.
Sports culture
The Lowlanders are, they say themselves, a normal rugby association. The fact that most members come from the rainbow community often arouses surprise outside rugby sport. But according to Pieter Hansma, one of the few heterosexuals at the Lowlanders, respect is in the DNA of the sport. “I sometimes say:” Rugby is A Hooligan’s Sport Played by Gentlemen. “And that’s the essence. It’s in our culture. It is competitive, but also safe and inclusive.”