Capturing Rugby Culture: Haringey Rhinos for Rugby Journal
One club, five nations, one Saturday in Haringey
The brief from The Rugby Journal was simple: capture the club, its spirit and its people. But from the moment I stepped onto that pitch next to White Hart Lane, it was clear this was more than a sports assignment. Haringey Rhinos are a grassroots London rugby club whose Saturday looks nothing like the version of the game most of the country gets to see, and photographing them was a cultural portrait of a corner of the Haringey community as much as a match.
The Rhinos are built on heritage, laughter and solidarity. Players from Nigeria, Jamaica, Tajikistan, China and Wales run together, celebrate together and support the next generation of local kids who play completely free thanks to community sponsorship. I photographed the whole shape of a matchday: the changing room before kick-off, the coach in the middle of the huddle, front rows binding for a scrum against Belsize Park, mud-caked and taped hands, supporters watching with a pint on the touchline, and the clubhouse afterwards, right down to the bar menu taped to the fridge.
The Rhinos reminded me why I photograph sport at all. It's not the scoreboard, it's the soul: the strength of a coach raising a diverse community to a sea of unity, the young player called up to captain for the first time, the elder players returning, pint in hand, remembering European tours from decades past. It sits alongside the rest of my sport and documentary work and a companion story from East London Rugby FC. If you're a club, governing body, magazine or brand who wants rugby photographed as culture rather than just contest, let's talk about a commission.