The Brisbane Hustlers will take to their home fields in Wavell Heights as both hosts and competitors when the 2026 Bingham Cup brings international inclusive rugby to Norths Rugby Club.
Norths Rugby Union Football Club at Hugh Courtney Oval, 150 Shaw Road, will serve as the primary tournament location for the Bingham Cup and Amanda Mark Cup, with match play running from 20 to 23 August.
The setting gives the Brisbane Hustlers a particularly local role in the tournament. The club normally trains and plays at Norths and will now compete there as teams from around the world arrive in Brisbane for the international event.
For Wavell Heights residents and the wider community, all rugby games at the tournament playing complexes will be free to attend, allowing spectators to watch the Hustlers and visiting teams across four days of competition.
Hustlers Take To Their Wavell Heights Home Ground
Norths Rugby Club will host matches on each competition day, beginning on Thursday, 20 August.
The Wavell Heights venue will share match duties with Bulimba Playing Fields on the opening day and with Ballymore Stadium on 21 and 22 August. Norths will then host finals day on Sunday, 23 August.
For the Brisbane Hustlers, the tournament follows years of competing in inclusive rugby events in Australia and overseas. The club finished third at the Bingham Cup in Rome in 2024 and won the Purchas Cup in 2025.
The Hustlers were founded in 2004 as Queensland’s first gay and inclusive rugby union team before re-forming in 2012 after a hiatus. They also compete in the Queensland Suburban Rugby Union competition.
The club has won the Purchas Cup in 2014, 2017 and 2025 and has launched what is described as Australia’s first openly gay and inclusive women’s rugby team.
International Competition Arrives At Norths
Brisbane will host the Bingham Cup for the first time in 2026, with the tournament having previously been staged in cities including Sydney, Dublin, Amsterdam, Ottawa and Rome.
The competition began in San Francisco in 2002 and is named in memory of rugby player Mark Bingham, who was aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on 11 September 2001.
Running alongside the Bingham Cup will be the Amanda Mark Cup, International Gay Rugby’s women’s championship. The competition was announced in Amsterdam in 2018, made its full debut in Ottawa in 2022 and returned in Rome in 2024.
The wider Brisbane program will begin on 16 August, while training sessions are scheduled at Bulimba Training Fields and Norths Devils Rugby League Club in Nundah from 17 to 19 August.
At the playing venues, tournament planning includes changing facilities, disability-accessible toilets, warm-up areas and access to water, along with food and beverage options.
From 20 August, attention will shift to the competition itself, with the Brisbane Hustlers playing on home turf as Norths Rugby Club becomes one of the key gathering points for the tournament before hosting the finals on 23 August.
Published 16-August-2026
