As founder of the Sydney Convicts, Australia’s first gay rugby club, I’ve seen first-hand the terrible discrimination that young gay men experience. But perhaps none is more devastating than rejection by families who cannot reconcile their child’s homosexuality with the teachings of their faith.

The Sydney Convicts are diverse, like rugby itself. We've always had numerous Pacific Islander, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players, most of whom are gay. (Not all Convicts players are gay, but they are all part of our community one way or another.)

When we started in 2004, a 19-year-old gay Tongan player heard about us and joined up. He was a talented and hard-working rugby player, and a warm, intelligent bloke, well-adjusted and confident in himself. We didn’t know at first that some devoutly Christian members of his family had ostracised him, and this had a profoundly negative impact on his life.

He was out of home at the age of 15, living with friends and putting himself through school and university. He couldn’t discuss being gay at home or talk about his male partner, let alone bring him along to family events.