Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

Rugby kisses from gay Paree
By Cyd Zeigler jr.
Outsports.com

The Tourism Board of Paris has come up with an ad campaign to attract Londoners to the cross-channel city of romance. One of the ads (right) in the campaign features rugby players in a scrum kissing and groping one another. Says their Web site:

"The second ad uses offbeat wit and the Rugby World Cup to show the world that Paris is also the capital of humour. The Paris region will be hosting several World Cup matches, including the final at the Stade de France."

Maybe it's lost on me because I'm gay, but I found the ad more erotic and sexy than funny. I guess they're going after the Chuck & Larry crowd, too. But given that the French Dieux du Stade puts out hours of video and pages of photos of naked athletes caressing themselves and one another every year, it's hard to find this shot somehow ironic.

-These ads are very disturbing to me...they are defiling the beautiful sport that I love and in their attempt to provide humorous advertisement, they have created a mockery of gays. This is no way is advancing the sport of rugby and does nothing for Paris tourism I bet.