London Colney to host Herts Pride rugby match for Stonewall

Matt Borrell, who is gay and plays for Verulamiums Rugby Football Club, has organised the match at his home ground to raise awareness of homophobia in sport - something the 20-year-old has sadly experienced first-hand.

The Grove Infant School teacher explains: "When I'm playing I hear a lot of homophobic language. There was a game two years ago where a player refused to shake my hand because he saw that I had painted nails and was wearing rainbow laces.

"I've been called a homophobic slur on the pitch, I felt that was the last straw."

Matt organised the event after experiencing homophobia on the pitch first hand. (Image: Supplied by Matt Borrell) His personal experience has led to him to organise Saturday's (October 5) event which will see the Verulamians clubhouse in London Colney decked out in rainbow flags for a day which will see a pair of rugby matches in aid of leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall.

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As well as the men's and women's matches between Verulamians RFC and a Hertfordshire-wide 'Barbarians' side, the day will feature music, food and children's entertainment.

The poster for Saturday's event. (Image: Supplied by Matt Borrell) Matt said: "We just want it to be a really comfortable space for people to see how inclusive our club can be. I'm going to be captaining the side at the weekend and I'll be so proud to see what our club can do.

"We want to send out a message that anyone can play rugby. It should be an inclusive sport for everyone and discriminatory language shouldn't be acceptable."

While sport has made great strides in battling homophobia, there are still no openly gay professional football or rugby players in the UK.

On this, Matt says: "There is still a long way to go across the board. I hear really harmful language all the time that is still passed off as banter."

Saturday's event takes place at the rugby club on North Orbital Road and you can make a donation to Stonewall by visiting justgiving.com/page/verulaminasrfc-pride-event.