How did Hexagon start?

Matt & Mark met in 2012 at ballet lessons.

Bonding over common interests - rugby, beer, British comedies such as Only Fools & Horses and childhood memories of holidays in UK seaside towns - and having kids of similar ages, we became firm friends. Yes, we are both Poms.

Matt had played first grade rugby in the UK until a shoulder pad injury forced his retirement in 2008. He was a great player in his day, if you don’t believe it, just ask him. Mark also played grade rugby in the UK and had been playing subbies rugby for Epping Rams since he arrived in Australia in 2010.

As our kids grew older and we were becoming more involved in weekend sport, any opportunities to play regularly were becoming few and far between.

Mark was invited to join Eastwood Charcoals who were playing in a modified rules Over 35s Sydney-wide set of fixtures on Sundays and encouraged Matt to don the shorts, (and his shoulder pads) once again. 

At the 2022 St Patrick’s night Over35’s fixture at TG Millner (Eastwood), Matt rediscovered his love of playing rugby and particularly the unique banter and camaraderie to be found amongst a bunch of rugby blokes. 

They were both set to play an active part in the Eastwood Charcoals team but unfortunately, the standard fixtures held on Sundays over the wider Sydney area clashed with kids’ sports and coaching commitments which meant they only managed two further run outs for the whole of the season.

Driven by the desire to play more regularly in a fun, social environment, they came up with HEXAGON RUGBY - a set of fixtures played locally on Friday nights which are more readily accessible for blokes like us - dads who want to play rugby and have good fun while doing so with like-minded rugby people, that doesn’t clash with weekend kid’s commitments. We felt this concept could also benefit other local clubs and so approached the captains of the local teams for their support. Each team said they were experiencing the same issues; dropping numbers, hard to field a team. Every team we approached loved the idea of Hexagon and wanted to join.

Hexagon have now played 2 seasons and regularly has up to 70 players turning up to play. All teams involved have increased their player numbers and a great community has built up between the teams.

We look forward to continuing to grow the local comp and look at expanding the concept to other areas to so that other teams can benefit from what we’ve learnt over the last few years.

Mark & Matt no longer attend ballet lessons.