News Blog
BARBOS PUMP WATERDOGS; SEASON FINALE OFFERS A CHANCE FOR PLAYOFF BERTH
The Denver Barbarians made a statement with a commanding 80-28 win over the Waterdogs Saturday, positioning themselves for a showdown against Aspen October 24th at Infinity Park (2p kick off) to wrap up the regular season. With a beautiful fall day as the setting, the Barbos ran in many tries and did their best to restore order in the Denver derby after last year’s disappointing results.
After allowing the Waterdogs to stay in the game for the first half – taking a 24-14 lead into halftime – the Barbos unleashed an attack their opponents could not contain. The men in Green and White played with freedom, style, panache and pizzazz, scoring some show stopping end-to-end team tries in the onslaught.
BARBOS SQUEAK BY PARK CITY; BIG TEST IN ASPEN AWAITS
The men in Green & White battled with the Park City Haggis last Saturday, treating the audience to an epic match of rugby union. The Barbos turned a sloppy 1st half into a high scoring, wild-west, shoot-out victory, the final score 41-40. But in the Rocky Mountain Rugby Union, the handshakes and Atta boys can only last for a few fleeting hours after a victory.
With Park City waking up the following Sunday to soundly defeat the Waterdogs, the pressure is back on the Barbos shoulders to defeat the reigning champion Aspen Gentlemen on the road to remain on the top half of the table (see below). Since Aspen rejoined the competitive XV’s RMR in 2024, they have defeated the Barbos six consecutive times. Four of the matches were in league play, and the other two came during the Ruggerfest Final in 2024 & 2026. The Aspen winning streak will continue if the Barbos don’t learn how to win on the road. Saturday’s match in Aspen will also come with some early fall chill, and the extra altitude will only ask more of the Barbo forward pack.
All-BARBO SIDE PLAY WITH PRIDE AT RUGGERFEST
Your Denver Barbarians put forward a valiant effort to defend last year’s Championship at the 58th Aspen Ruggerfest Tournament, falling to a stacked and impressive home side in the Grand Final. Aspen came loaded for bear – fitting, as this year featured a historic number of sightings, including a “Bear Delay” when one of several bears napping in pitch-side trees climbed down for a leisurely stroll across Wagner. The Gentlemen, infused with international legends of the game like flyhalf Kurt Morath, a veteran of three World Cups, orchestrated several show-stopping tries that outpaced the Barbos’ best efforts for a 67-12 final.
All in attendance were treated to a dream final between the two teams who’ve hoisted the trophy more often than all other Ruggerfest winners combined. And none will forget the electric silence echoing down the Roaring Fork Valley before kickoff. At the end, the Barbos were well beaten but stood proud as the only true club side in the competition – all players being current or former Barbos.
SLOW START PROVES COSTLY AT NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
The Barbo 7s learned the hard way that starting slow can be deadly. This proved to be the case Saturday morning as they lost two close matches and saw their championship chances vanish quickly.
The first match against the Detroit Tradesman was a score for score battle. The Barbos put together nice phases of play, which led to two first half tries from Julian DeRaffele. But it was indecisive defensive errors that allow Detroit to match the score with two tries of their own. After the men in Green & White went down to six men from a defensive yellow card, Detroit grabbed the lead with a 3rd score pushing the score to 19-12 with just a minute on the clock.
BARBOS END SEPTEMBER HOT AND COLD
Your Denver Barbarians opened up their XV’s fall season with four wins on the trot. After a high scoring opening weekend, the try scoring continued on through Ruggerfest weekend. There, up in Aspen on Wagner Field, the Barbos fell just short the the Gentlemen of Aspen. It was no gentle match, with both teams dealing blows through the final seconds. While men in Green & White scored more tries on the day, the final result was a loss at the death. 36-32 Aspen victory.
SUMMER 7’S HAVE ARRIVED
The Barbos opened up their 2024 summer 7’s with a strong showing in the Gateway 7’s in St. Louis, Saturday June 15th. The men in Green & White played sharp throughout the day, winning 4 straight pool games before a tantalizing final against the St. Louis Bombers. The cup final went into sudden death, and the home side won 26-21 after 5 minutes of extra time. The Barbos played with strong cohesion throughout the day, and the lessons from the first tournament in the summer will be valuable.
The Barbos lineup for Gateway 7’s:
Nick Johnson
Eric Sykes
Campbell Johnstone
Alex Wormer
Mickey Bateman
Rufus McLean
Ian Wormer
Arnaud Agasse
David Hightower
Jack Miller
John Ryberg
Kobe Millar
Logan Lair
BARBO 7S UNDEFEATED THROUGH TWO TOURNAMENTS, SHIFTING FOCUS TO SUNPLASH 7S
The Denver Barbo 7’s program is renowned for producing home grown talent and continually competing at the highest level. Saturday June, 24th at Prospect Park was no exception. The Barbos finished 1,2 and went undefeated in pool play throughout the day. The Barbo A side was led by Mickey Bateman & Malik Bryant who both scored early and often throughout the day. The Barbo B side had multiple standouts including Nick Johnson, Thomas LaMuraglia & USA 7’s Eagle Ben Pinkelman.
BARBOS WIN THE 2023 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH GUTSY PERFORMANCES AGAINST BOSTON AND BOISE
BARBOS PUT OUT THE CHICAGO BLAZE 21-8, ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
BARBOS DEFEAT EASTSIDE BANSHEES 67-17
BARBOS FALL SHORT TO PARK CITY HAGGIS
The Barbos fell short to Park City for the 2nd time in 3 weeks, collapsing in the 2nd half and blowing a 14 point halftime lead. Credit goes to Park City who continued to battle through multiple yellow cards and rode their momentum to complete the impressive comeback. After scoring 4 first half tries, the men in Green & White simply couldn’t turn the corner in the 2nd half. Park City rode their momentum until the final whistle where they scored in the corner to make the final score 31-28.
BARBOS DOWN THE WATERDOGS 69-14
Your Denver Barbarians defeated the Denver Waterdogs 69-14 on a perfect October afternoon at Infinity Park. The game was physical and included some impressive ball work as the two side duked it out for 80 minutes. Alex Wormer was impressive in attack all day as the open side flanker and lineout operator consistently broke the gain line finishing four tries (most of the under the posts). In the end, the relentless Barbo attack was too much for a Waterdogs side who had a man sent to the bin with a red card.
BARBOS FALL TO PARK CITY IN A TALE OF TWO HALVES
When the team travelling to Park City was named on Thursday night, we saw some new names looking for new opportunities on the rugby pitch. Luckily for them, there is no greater opportunity that travelling west to face our Utah based league rivals Park City Haggis.
BARBOS EDGE OUT A STRONG QUEEN CITY
The men in Green & White finished out their first two game sweep by defeating the Queen City Rams 35-17 (after dispatching Boulder in the previous match). Captain Todd Oswald led the men to a well earned victory in a battle that started tight and kept its intensity throughout the match.
BARBOS DEFEAT BOULDER TO OPEN 2022 FALL SEASON
The men in Green & White crossed the white line early and often in the first half, opening the scoring through the young (but experienced) fullback Luka Pavlakis. A line break in the first minute resulted in Pavlakis’ first try of the day as the Barbos got 5 points on the board in the first minute. Boulder countered back with a score of their own, and the score was knotted at 5-5, 8 minutes into the match. But, it was from that point on when the Green & White attack grabbed a hold of the game. A barrage of tries from the 10-40 minute mark put Dante Brown, Alex Wormer, Conor O’Brien, Stevie Karas (the skipper), Alex Schultz, Luka Pavlakis (again), Jason Tubbs Christensen, and the entire forward pack (penalty try) on the score sheet. Liam Wynne ticked over 6 conversions and score at halftime was 59-5.
DENVER BARBARIANS THRASH BOULDER - FINAL SCORE: 83-26
After suffering a humbling defeat to Boulder RFC to open the 2021 fall XV’s season, the BarboFam circled November 6th in what would be the much sought after rematch. Seasons, fortunes and even fates can change in the blink of an eye. Was the 31-17 defeat on August 28th truly the moment of self reflection that launched this successful run in the late fall? Perhaps … it’s also possible that change can ALSO come slowly. It can permeate within a team like water breaking down stone. Slowly, but surely.
By the time this fateful November 6th rematch arrived, the men in Green & White were ready to show they had cemented the change needed to capture the Rocky Mountain Premiership. Under the magnificent Colorado sun, the Denver Barbarians were successful on the day, dismantling Boulder from start to finish.
A CLEAN OCTOBER SWEEP…
With the dust settled on a hard fought month of October, The Barbos have snatched their fall season back. It’s as simple as that …
After starting slow with an unexpected, lowly 1-2 record, the team has now caught a groove and have reeled in 4 straight wins. With the reintroduction of some key 7’s player who excelled this past summer, the Denver Barbarians have seen their attacking prowess surge during the win streak averaging a whopping 58 points per game over the last 4 hit outs.
Director of Rugby Danny Bell said it best “It took a while for the train to leave the station early on in the season, but now that it has, it’s full steam ahead.”
Let’s take a look back at the month of October and shower credit where it’s due.
REFLECTIONS FROM 2021 SUMMER 7’S
Looking back to all of the emotions and effort that was thrown into the season, I couldn’t be more proud of the group that represented in Seattle. After the jubilation of victory, and the crushing blow of defeat, it’s all the more clear to me that the core of this Barbo 7’s team will be back next year to finish what we started in the summer of 2021.
DENVER BARBARIANS DEFEAT DENVER HIGHLANDERS 47-17
DENVER BARBARIANS DEFEAT DENVER HIGHLANDERS 47-17
DENVER BARBARIANS WIN 2018 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The Denver Barbarians defeated the Detroit Tradesman in a nail biter, final score 39-38.