News Blog
DENVER BARBARIANS 7S ANNOUNCE NEW HEAD COACH DAVID WILLIAMS
The Denver Barbarians are excited to announce the appointment of David Williams as Head Coach of our 7s program. A native of England, Williams brings extensive experience at both the international and professional levels of rugby. A former USA Eagle in both 7s and 15s, he has held coaching roles across professional rugby in the United States, including the Head Coach of the Glendale Raptors and Assistant Head Coach of the inaugural Denver Stampede.
Williams also served as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the USA Men’s National 7s and 15s programs, contributing across three Rugby World Cups and multiple World Rugby Sevens Series campaigns. We’re excited to welcome his leadership, experience, and passion for the game to the Denver Barbarians 7s program. He’ll be supported by assistant coaches Steve LaPorta and Kelly Meek, both of whom are familiar faces around the Denver Barbarians 7s community.
The club is incredibly grateful for Jason Kelly’s last four summers as head coach where the club continually qualified for the national club tournament and placed in the top 4 (three times in four years). Jason has been a stalwart clubman since his Barbo playing days. He continued to help grow our players on and off the rugby pitch and the club is lucky to have felt his impact each summer.
The first training of the year begins Monday, May 25th at Cook Park 6-8pm.
BARBOS WIN 4TH STRAIGHT DENVER 7’S, TURNING FOCUS TO KANSAS
The Denver Barbos A side defeated the Kansas City Reds 21-5 in the Final to wrap a Denver 7’s to remember. The team let in a single try throughout the tournament, and won relying on defensive cohesion. Marco LaPierre was a standout all day as he dominated the kick-restarts and won back valuable possession for the men in Green & White.
BARBOS NAME TWO STRONG TEAMS MIXED WITH YOUTH AND WISDOM
Denver Barbarians 7’s A:
Mickey Bateman
Alex Wormer
David Hightower
Jack Miller
Nick Johnson
Campbell Johnstone
Cody Melphy
Marco LaPierre
Luke Neely
Iosefo Salavasio
Andrew Wulf*
Cian Barry*
DENVER 7’S AT COOK PARK FEATURES A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE MIX OF TEAMS
Nothing gets me more excited than watching the Barbos compete in a high stakes 7’s qualifier tournament on home soil. This year’s Denver 7’s Frontier region qualifier will be held at Cook Park, Saturday June 28th, from 8am-5pm. While the men in Green & White have won the past three Denver 7’s tournaments, they will surely be challenged this year by some highly competitive teams from the Heart of America conference in the Midwest.
Pool A: Denver Barbarians A, Air Force Rugby 7’s A, Kansas City Blues B
Pool B: Kansas City RFC, Denver Highlanders, Air Force Rugby 7’s B
Pool C: Kansas City Blues A, Vail Rugby, Colorado Springs Spartans
Pool D: Omaha Goats, Gentleman of Aspen, Denver Barbarians B
BARBOS SWEEP 55TH ANNUAL DENVER 7’S
After posting a 4-0 record on a successful trip up to Aspen Colorado for an afternoon of 7’s matches, the men in Green & White turned their focus toward their home tournament. The 55th Annual Denver 7’s. An event that once stood at 30+ teams across the Men’s, Women’s, Social and High School brackets at the pristine Dick’s Sporting Goods Park fields, is now a more humble gathering of teams at Cook Park. After semi-final victories over Aspen and Park City, it was the Denver Barbarians who raised the hardware in the end, defeating the Barbo 2nd side in the final match of the day. The day featured great moments of 7’s excitement, a strong showing from the local rugby audience and pizza for all after the final from Guido’s Pizza in Genesee.
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.