Denver Barbarians’ D1 side opened their Spring season with a non-league encounter against BYU’s developmental side in Grand Junction, Colorado, on a cold and windy day. 

 It was the 8th match for BYU and the first for Denver.  The Barbarians showed some rust and pre-season fitness issues, while BYU were hitting mid-season form and prevailed 32-26, after taking a large early lead.  

Depth proved to be a problem for Denver as a number of RSL and D1 players were unavailable due to injury or other commitments, forcing the D1 side to be manned by a number of players who had played in the preceding match between the Barbos RSL side and BYU’s first unit.  Both teams played an open and entertaining match before an appreciative crowd at Grand Junction’s Canyon View Park.

New D1 coach John Kenney (actually returning to the Barbarian coaching staff after completing his college degree), was encouraged by the performance of his side.  “We got a chance to play all of our players and try different combinations in both our matches Saturday.  It was great to have a D! match leading into our first league match on March 14. BYU’s match readiness was apparent and they jumped out front.  I was encouraged by our players’ ability to fight back and make a game of it in the end.  In two weeks, we play Denver Highlanders, who caught us following  Ruggerfest last Fall and really put it to us.  We need to be ready for that match and getting a run with BYU will certainly help our development.”  

The D1 match against Denver Highlanders will be played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (stadium) at 3 pm, March 14, following the Barbarians’ Rugby Super League opening match against 2010 RSL Champions San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Club.  

General admission tickets and some specialty tickets for both matches on March 14 and all Barbarian matches at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park are available online at:  http://tickethorse.com/sports/rugby.   Information on all packages for all Barbarian matches at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (stadium), including VIP hosting at the Eagles Nest suite are available at the Barbarians website at:  http://www.denverbarbarians.com/schedules-a-results/events/547-2010-ticket-packages.

The remainder of the Barbarians D1 2010 Spring fixtures, all league matches, are:

March 27 -  Boulder RFC @ DSGP stadium, 2 pm kickoff.
April 3     -  Gentlemen of Aspen @ Grand Junction, kickoff TBD
April 10   -  KC Blues @ Denver University, 12:30 pm kickoff
April 17   -  Glendale Raptors @ DSGP stadium, 12 noon kickoff

The Barbarians are looking to build on their club success and are always seeking additional players.  For interested players or fans, go to www.denverbarbarians.com.

DENVER BARBARIANS (versus BYU):  1 Mike Pisney, 2 Tim Miller, 3 Josh Masek, 4 Ben Happapuro, 5 Ben Schnake, 6 Rob O'Connor, 7 Chris Conway, 8 Dan O'Kane, . Drew Legge, 10 Matt Lancaster, 11 Jake McCormick, 12 Darrin Butler, 13 Adam Fisher, 14 Thom Garnick, 15 Ross Kantor.  Replacements:  Adam Ulrich for Masek,  Andrew Post for Conway, Bret Wolf for Legge,
Nick O'Connell for Schnake.