Duc_d_Arkansas

One of the more common homophobic arguments against gay athletes is that openly gay athletes will cause discord in the dressing rooms: being naked around gay team-mates will cause straight members to be uncomfortable, or so it is claimed. Then of course there is the even worse argument that allowing straight and gay athletes to train together will somehow cause the straight ones to ''turn'' gay.

Personally I think both these arguments are bullshit, but I have very little experience in organised sports. So I guess you're a good person to ask. Do you have any experience with either of the two situations? Do you (assuming you are straight) feel uncomfortable changing in front of a gay, female team-mate? If not, would you feel the same way if the team-mates was a straight male? Also, have there been any instances of straight team-mates ''turning'' gay due to exposure to gay team-mates? Are relationships between players ever allowed?

During the recent Women's World Cup, there was a lot of comparisons being made between the men's and women's games. One fact that kept getting brought up was how elite women's football teams would lose to U-18 men's teams, by big margins some times. This was done to illustrate the difference in quality between men's and women's football, although what it really did was illustrate the influence of natural physicality and training in football matches.

I was wondering if a similar comparison could be made with rugby, given that phyiscality is even more pronounced in this sport. If an elite, national women's rugby team were to play an average men's U-18 team, would they be able to beat the boys? Would they be able to defeat a men's semi-professional or perhaps amateur rugby side?

As for your university side, what level of men's rugby could your team defeat? Under 16s?