How Eric Anderson’s Career in Rugby Started With His Husband | Ep 28

There’s a certain poetry to how someone ends up in rugby without ever planning to touch the pitch. For Eric Anderson, it started the day his husband joined the local team in Los Angeles and Eric, who’d never played a minute, walked into the Rebellion’s orbit and somehow wound up running the whole thing. On Episode 28 of The Gay Rugby Podcast, Jack Higgins and Ozzy Luna sit down with Eric, now President of the Los Angeles Rebellion Rugby Club and part of the team behind Rugby LA, to talk about what it’s like to inherit a sport through love and build a community through intention.We get into the real stuff: how a partner’s weekend hobby morphed into a full-blown commitment to inclusive rugby in Los Angeles, what it means to lead one of the most visible LGBTQ+ rugby clubs in the country, and why the Rebellion has become a touchstone for queer athletes looking for a place to land. Eric also breaks down the work going into the upcoming Rucktacular Rugby Tournament in Palm Springs on December 13th, including a first-of-its-kind non-binary and trans-inclusive rugby match that’s pushing the sport forward in a way traditional leagues haven’t dared to.This episode touches on the entire ecosystem of queer rugby - from the Rebellion’s growth to the culture around International Gay Rugby, the Bingham Cup, community rugby in LA, and the broader movement to make full-contact sport accessible to every body. It’s the kind of conversation that reminds you how these clubs aren’t just teams; they’re survival networks, social circles, and accidental families.If you’ve ever wondered how someone becomes the face of a rugby club before ever lacing up boots - this is your episode.