Players: Justen Brignac, Max de Achaval, Charles Euwema, Tim Flynn, Ben Haapapuro, Jake Humphrey, Jody Kramer ©, Demian Mallo-Smith, Teddy Omondi, Brian Perna, Garrett Peterson, Dewon ReedStaff: Sean Knight; Coach, Howard Kent; Assit. Coach/Manager.

We arrived in Dallas on a Friday night flight just after 10:30 pm, only to find that 1) our tent had not arrived, 2) the Enterprise Rental car counter had closed (Yep a USA Rugby sponsor) and 3) it was 90 degrees and 90% humidity at 11 pm! So, it took a couple of rounds of Holiday Inn Courtesy Van shuttle to get us to the Holiday Inn Express DFW by 11:30 pm. A 5:30 am trip back to DFW for the van was a welcome break from all that sleep for the tour Manager. Saturday morning the club had a quick breakfast at the Hotel and then a couple of us took off to Glencoe Park for the 8:30 am Captains’ Meeting while the rest went back to the DFW to retrieve our late arriving tent.

The Western Club 7s Super Regional Qualifier (1 of 3) was a 10-team event. The teams in the field were competing for the 3 WRFU seeds to the National Club 7s championship final 16. The Barbarians were seeded #1 by virtue of a 1st place finish in last year’s Super Regional series (the 4th in a row). We had not played in any minor tourneys prior to this one and 8 of last years 12-man squad from Nationals was unavailable. The Kansas and Texas clubs had already played in 2 or 3 minor events coming into this tourney.

Four pool Matches:
1st Match vs. Dallas Pirates (Reds) 50/0
2nd Match vs. Kansas City Blues 31/5
3rd Match vs. Oklahoma City 48/0
4th Match vs. Dallas Harlequins A 21/14

During the early rounds the Barbo’s had played all of the members of the squad and received solid contributions from all. After the first 3 rounds the Barbos had locked up the top spot in the pool and took there foot of the geas a bit in the final pool match. At the end of the pool play the Barbos were undefeated and won the pool outscoring the opposition 150 to 19, 24 tries to 3. We only made 16 of 24 conversions, a somewhat sub par rate, required as we move toward the Nationals. The Dallas Harlequin and KC Blues teams have both made strides, and should do well over the course of the summer.

5th Match vs. Austin Elite, Semi Final 45/5

In the Semifinal the Barbarians played the Austin Elite. In the opening minute a dropped ball created a quick try for the Elite. After which the Barbos pressure defense and attacking experience showed through and a particularly fine complete team performance saw the club winning 45 to 5, 7 tries to 1, with 5 of 7 conversions made.

6th Match vs. Aspen, Final 21/14

Barbo Starters in the Final:
Max de Achaval, Charles Euwema, Ben Haapapuro, Jake Humphrey, Jody Kramer ©, Teddy Omondi, Dewon Reed.
Subs: Peterson (Humphrey 1st - 5th min), Flynn (Kramer 2nd – 2nd min)
Ref: J. Zevin

In the Championship the Denver Barbarians met the Gentlemen of Aspen in what has become a long standing competitive and mutually respectful summer rivalry. The Gents had take care of the KC Blues on the other semifinal 24 to 5. As in their semifinal, a dropped Denver ball created a quick try for the Mike Palefau of Aspen, which was converted. 0 – 7 Aspen. Denver then secured the ensuing Aspen Kickoff and controlled the ball trough 3 phases of play that ended with a try to Haapapuro. de Achaval’s conversion failed, 5 – 7 Aspen. The teams battled to a standstill for the remainder of the first half.

The second half started with the Barbos not quite retrieving their own Kickoff. Aspen won the resulting scum but were denied room to operate. The Barbarians turned the ball over and spread the Aspen defense with Omondi touching down in the 2nd minute of the half. de Achaval’s conversion failed, 10 – 7 Denver. For the next couple of minutes the teams traded possession and penalties. de Achaval created a kick and chase opportunity which resulted in Reed outpacing the Aspen defense for the ball in goal. de Achaval’s difficult conversion failed, 15 – 7 Denver. Both side played out the remained of the match with very with strong defense The match ended and the Barbos had won 15 to 7, 3 tries to 1.

Financial concerns had caused the Barbos to schedule a Saturday evening return flight. The hosts the Dallas Quins and the other teams involved in the semis graciously rescheduled the final kick off time to allow the Barbarians to make their flight home. This did mean however that the Barbos only has 20 minutes break between their semi final and the final, Aspen had a whopping 40 minutes. The Harlequins club ran a good event and the referees performed admirably in the 102 degree heat.