For many South Africans the word ‘rugby’ conjures up images of farm boys towing tractors in khaki shorts and stubble from the age of seven.

Then there’s Jozi Cats, Africa’s first gay rugby club, who are doing a superb job of challenging that and other stereotypes surrounding the gay community.

You can see a bit more about their new campaign in that video below, but here’s EWN with more:

The campaign, spearheaded and created by Head of Havas PR South Africa, Chris Verrijdt, uses players from the rugby team in a series of shots with derogatory gay terms that question the perception of the kind of gay man the players are.

“From the outset we wanted to be disruptive, but we also had to be sensitive. Some of the guys are still coming out to either friends, family or colleagues, so they were involved in every step of the process.”

Verrijdt says, “We had to make sure everyone was comfortable with the final outcome and I need to applaud each and every one of them for their bravery as this campaign will definitely start a conversation.”

Check out the gallery below for full-size images of their new campaign:

Well played gents, I’m sure there’s a farmer somewhere choking on his boerewors but I guess that’s half the battle won.

For more info on the Jozi Cats check their Facebook page HERE.

[source:ewn]