On September 26, the Indigenous Australian Invitational Rugby (IAIR) Team is set to play an all Native-American Representative rugby team. With kickoff at 6pm, the game will be played at the University of Denver’s Pioneer Field, entry is free and pre-game ceremonies begin at 5:50pm.

This game was created as a way of bringing players together to learn more about their respective cultures. It is not only a game but also an educational experience for these players as well.

This will not be the first meeting between these two representative sides. The two teams met for the first time back in 2015 when the IAIR visited Gallup, New Mexico. The experience proved to be a tremendous success for both sides and inspired this return fixture, three years later.

Coach for the all Native-American team, Tamaris Montano, stated, “This match has evolved to showcase Indigenous players. There are very few Native American role models, and this match brings together men of different cultures to share in the experience of a lifetime.”

While bringing these different cultures together is a main aspect of this game, another is to bring awareness to the issues many Native-American’s and Indigenous people face.

Montano continues, “It also helps the Indigenous players understand that we share the same obstacles in our lives. Some of the problems that our communities face are alcohol, drug abuse, domestic violence, achieving higher education, just to name a few.”

This will sure to be a game of a lifetime for both teams. IAIR travels to Southern California next to take on California State University, Long Beach Rugby to be played on September 28th.