Exeter Chief's imposing second-row Jack Dunne will be the Premiership's first openly LGBTQ+ player when he makes his debut for the club this weekend.
"Hopefully once there are one or two more people it will start to feel that this is something they can say and it won't be a big thing," Dunne, who identifies as bisexual, revealed exclusively to BBC Sport.
"Hopefully it would be good for other gay or bisexual men to see people like me and hopefully it'll give them a bit of confidence to be able to be who they are.
"All my team-mates back at Leinster, none of them ever had an issue with it, they were all very supportive, so it wasn't something I really worried about too much,
"I thought if people were going to give me stick for it that was their problem, not mine, so I wasn't too concerned about it.
"It was probably tougher coming out to my friends and family back in the day, I'd been OK with it for five years or so, so it wasn't really a big thing for me when I came out publicly, the personal one was probably bigger than the professional one."
Five rugby lads who are out and proud
RUCK wanted to celebrate five out and proud rugby stars. Their focus? How we can collectively align to take action that drives change on and off the pitch.
1. Nigel Owens
All fans, players, and anyone who knows anything about rugby will know the name, Nigel Owens. Besides having the record for most test matches refereed, Owens has earned a reputation as one of the top rugby referees around the world.
The Welshman is also a TV personality and a devoted activist for the LGBT cause, winning “Gay Sports Personality of the Decade” at the Stonewall awards ceremony in London back in 2015.
Referee, Nigel Owens during the Heineken Champions Cup Final Match between Exeter Chiefs and Racing 92 at Ashton Gate, Bristol on the 17 Oct. PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
2. Gareth Thomas
The Wales legend is one of the greatest rugby players in the history of the UK, captaining the Welsh international side as well as the British and Irish Lions during his career.
Thomas publicly came out in 2009 and has since described his experience as a secretly gay player, revealing how the social pressure and stereotypes pose a significant challenge for many athletes today.
3. Craig Maxwell-Keys
Maxwell-Keys, who took charge of the 2020 Gallagher Premiership final, eventually decided the time was right to reveal his sexuality to colleagues at Twickenham as well as his local club, Lichfield RFC in 2019.
Now based in Cheltenham, he aims to continue moving up the referees' pecking order - and his experiences since coming out have indicated that sexuality will be no barrier to that.
4. Nick McCarthy
The Leinster scrum-half came out as gay in June 2022, and thanked coaches Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster for their “unbelievable” support. McCarthy added that he had previously thought about quitting professional rugby union because of his sexuality.
The 27-year-old added that he had taken strength from the stories of footballer Josh Cavallo and American footballer Carl Nassib, in addition to his former bisexual teammate Jack Dunne.
5. Jack Dunne
Out pro rugby player Jack Dunne will have a new home next season. The Exeter Chiefs, who play in rugby union’s top division, Premiership Rugby, recently signed the promising young rugger from Leinster, a club in Ireland.
Last year, Dunne publicly came out as bisexual in an interview with the Independent, talking about his desire to be a role model for LGBTQ kids. That’s an impressive goal for any 22 year old.
