These pro rugby players French kissed as they celebrated a big win
The official accounts of Top 14 Rugby also shared the snap of Jack Willis and Blair Kinghorn smooching after Toulouse’s title win. The post These pro rugby players French kissed as they celebrated a big win appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Ooh la la! A photo of two players locking lips in the Stade de France locker room after Saturday’s Top 14 rugby final is causing a social media frisson.
Also posted by the pro league’s official accounts, the lighthearted moment shows Toulouse stars Jack Willis and Blair Kinghorn celebrating their victory with a kiss.
Both men are stood shirtless, with Kinghorn wearing red Budgy Smugglers showing the club crest. The swimwear brand’s French language account on Instagram commented: “We know @jackswillis, it’s tough to resist” with a happy-cry emoji.
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There was also a red heart emoji dropped into the comments by Jeremy Clamy-Edroux, who came out publicly as gay while playing professionally in 2021 and who is an ambassador for next month’s LGBTQ-inclusive EuroGames multisports event in Lyon.
And the music chosen to soundtrack this photo? The sensual 1969 duet of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, titled “Je t’aime… moi non plus.”
Willis collaborated on the Instagram post with the account of podcast “For the Love of Rugby.”
But for anyone wondering if the smooch might hint at something romantic, that’s not the case here. Willis and Kinghorn are best buddies — an Englishman and a Scotsman respectively, in the ranks of one of the world’s best club rugby teams.
For background, wing/full-back Kinghorn is engaged to his partner, nutritionist Dina Celina, while back-row forward Willis’ long-term girlfriend is Megan Ely. They have a son together, Enzo.
Willis scored two tries in Toulouse’s 39-33 thrilling extra-time triumph over Bordeaux Begles, which secured the victors a third straight league crown.
The game was played in sweltering temperatures in Paris so it’s no surprise the Toulouse boys were keen to let off some steam afterwards, hence the platonic (but still homoerotic) peck between pals.
An exuberant Kinghorn was also filmed on the pitch performing a flamboyant “nouvelle danse” and in a short video taken in the locker room just before his kiss with Willis, he appears to briefly ‘hump’ the Top 14 trophy!
Of course, it’s all just boys being boys. The close-contact brotherhood of men’s rugby has long created such a “touchy-feely” atmosphere, especially when compared to various other sports in which the lines of masculinity are more tightly policed.
That also plays into an inclusive vibe in which, for the most part, gay players and fans can happily cheer on, appreciating the cheeky canoodling without having to worrying if it might be queer-baiting.
In sharing the photo on his personal Instagram feed, Willis is demonstrating a laissez-faire attitude towards an image that will (inevitably) attract a handful of homophobic reactions online. But who cares about those keyboard warriors, the 28-year-old is probably thinking.
But while the rugby environment appears more gay-friendly, that hasn’t yet translated into significant levels of out gay and bisexual representation among players active in the men’s pro game.
Exeter Chiefs’ Irish lock Jack Dunne is publicly out as bi in England’s top-tier Premiership, while Clamy-Edroux played for two more seasons with French second division side Rouen after coming out.
He has now hung up his boots and gone into coaching, and is also hosting a podcast with his partner, the artist Clement Legrand. You can check out pics from their recent shoot in rugby kit.
Other retired pro rugby union international players who have come out as gay include Gareth Thomas (Wales), Nick McCarthy (Ireland), Campbell Johnstone (New Zealand), Dan Palmer (Australia) and Sam Stanley (England Sevens).
In addition, Simon Miall married his husband a few years after leaving English club Harlequins.
As for the tough-but-tender duo at Toulouse, following their post-match partying in Paris, Kinghorn was immediately leaving on a flight to Brisbane to join the British and Irish Lions touring party, who are preparing for a three-Test series against Australia.
And after his superb showing in the Top 14 final, Willis is also being hotly tipped for a late Lions summons Down Under.
Queer sports fans might feel they now have extra reason to roar them on, as much for their “joie de vivre” as their rugby abilities.
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The post These pro rugby players French kissed as they celebrated a big win appeared first on Outsports.
