User:Chris draig Cymru/sandbox

Introduction
The Swansea Vikings Rugby Team is a Gay and Inclusive team which runs from Swansea Uplands RFC, creating a safe space where gay, bi, trans, straight and queer people can develop their skills and confidence in playing and supporting rugby. The Swansea Vikings are affiliated to both the Welsh Rugby Union and International Gay Rugby (IGR) since its creation in 2015. The club also works closely with both Swansea University and University of Wales Trinity of St David, promoting each other, developing rugby and opportunities for the LGBTQ community. Swansea Vikings have a strong track record of working closely with our local communities to address local issues.

History
The Swansea Vikings played their first match against the Swansea Gladiators RFC in June 2015, and have since played fixtures against local, mixed-ability and other IGR clubs, setting off to Liverpool for their first tour in the summer of 2017. The following year the club set off to Amsterdam to take part in its first IGR tournament the Bingham Cup 2018, a worldwide tournament which saw over 80 teams take part in a three day event which put a spotlight on inclusive rugby and saw the club reach the semi-final of the Hoagland Vase, despite entering as the lowest cede. In the same year, the Swansea Vikings entered the IGR Southern League after years of trying. Overall, the season was a strong one for the club seeing them finish at the top of the league table within their first season. Despite this, the Swansea Vikings lost two important games against Northampton Outlaws both during the main league fixtures (57-17) and in the final (33-26).

Bingham Cup 2018
Despite being relatively new, the Swansea Vikings had a successful first Bingham Cup. The club celebrated finishing with a full set of pool victories against St. Louis Crusaders (33-7), Wessex Wyverns (29-5) and Emerald Warriors (27-0) before heading into the quarterfinals of the Hoagland Vase. The medical staff had done a fantastic job at patching the players up after the hard, dry pitches took its toll on the players, and the brilliant support from the Vikings crowd saw the team edge past Mid-West Rampage RFC 14-6 in a very physical game. In their final game of the tournament, The Swansea Vikings played against Les Gaillards RFC, a French Rugby League side, narrowing losing 14-12 in a fast-paced, aggressive and emotional match. Despite the loss, the club showed great spirit and resilience in getting to and competing in the semi-finals, something on which it was able to build upon for the upcoming entry into the IGR Southern League following the tournament.

IGR Southern League
Following the success of their first IGR tournament, the Swansea Vikings entered their first IGR League, seeing regular fixtures and greater interaction with the surrounding IGR clubs in Wales and Southern England. The league saw the team travelling away to many of their games, however despite this setback the club saw victories over Wessex Wyverns (29-5) and Bristol Bisons (42-0) on the road, with a heavy loss to Northampton Outlaws too. Home fixtures saw victories over Birmingham Bulls and Cardiff Lions setting up for the final against Northampton Outlaws as the teams at the top of the table. The Swansea Vikings were able to close the gap between themselves and the Northampton Outlaws, however, were on the backfoot throughout the game due to their opponents being well-drilled. The Swansea Vikings are looking forward to work on previous success within the tournament and on the bond that they have created with their fellow IGR teams, welcoming in two new sides in the 2019-2020 season (West Country Wasps and Berkshire Unicorns).