The competitive rugby club has launched a bold new initiative to recruit more players.

JOHANNESBURG - Africa's first gay and inclusive competitive rugby club has launched a bold new initiative to recruit more players.

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."

For Jozi Cats Chairman, Teveshan Kuni, the campaign was right place; right time as although the team had been around for a few months, recruiting new players had plateaued.

"The truth of the matter is that many of our players don't feel like they can be openly gay and be a rugby player in South Africa.

"So we started Jozi Cats as a space where they could be both. The club is somewhere that players can play social and competitive rugby in a safe and non-judgmental environment."