The Denver Barbarians Rugby Club claimed sole possession of 2 nd place in the final Red (Western) Conference standings with a complete destruction of Old Puget Sound Beach Rugby Football Club Saturday afternoon at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The Barbarians' victory was comprehensive, scoring 15 tries to 3 for OPSB.

Denver clinched a playoff berth with 25 points, but await next weeks' match between Chicago Griffins and Charlotte RFC to determine if the Barbarians or Charlotte will have a home match for the May 17 quarterfinal match. The Rugby Super League finals will be at Infinity Stadium in Glendale and televised live on ESPN Classic. Charlotte has 23 points heading into their clash with the Griffins next weekend in Chicago. A win or a draw with a bonus point (4 tries) vault Charlotte into the fourth seed and will send Denver on the road, probably against Charlotte.

The Barbarians hosted Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado at the match. There were approximately 20 boys and girls, and their mentors, in attendance during the match. Afterwards, the children met the players, Head Coach and staff of the Denver squad.

As a memento of the day, the children received rugby T-shirts and will soon receive pictures of their meeting with the team. All involved seemed genuinely delighted with the occasion.

Denver scored 107 points three weeks ago against out-manned Washington and came close again on Saturday against a much better Seattle team, who competed hard at the breakdown and had some pop in their backline. Nevertheless, Barbarian forwards dominated loose possession, wheeled their opponents' scrum all match, and produced good ball off both their own and OPSB's lineouts.

Mark Bokhoven and Tyson Meek led Barbarian scoring with three tries each. Meek added 3 conversions for a leading point total of 21 points on the day. David Yavala added 2 tries. Link Wilfley had a penalty and five conversions for 13 points. The Barbarians had 10 different try scorers, 9 from the backs and 6 from their forwards.

DENVER BARBARIANS: 1 Chris Moreno (Kelley on as front row injury substitute @ 55 minutes), 2 Kyle Fenton (Russo @ 65 minutes), 3 Mike Kelley (Landau at half), 4 John Van der Giessen (Smith at half), 5 Mike Mangan, 6 Adam Drury (Peterson @ 45 minutes), 7 Andrew Post (Hewitt @ 55 minutes), 8 Pat Quinn, 9 Tyson Meek, 10 Link Wilfley (Williams at 60 minutes), 11 Mark Bokhoven, 12 Ben Haapapuro, 13 David Yavala, 14 Jody Kramer (Humphrey @ 65 minutes), 15 Dan Bludeau, 16 Tim Russo, 17 Mike Landau, 18 Garrett Peterson, 19 Hayden Smith, 20 Tom Hewitt, 21 David Williams, 22 Jake Humphrey.

Coach: David Hodges

Tries: Bokhoven 3, Meek 3, Yavala 2, Drury, Van der Giessen, Fenton, Post, Peterson, Humphrey, Russo.

Conversions: Wilfley 5, Meek 3, Bludeau 1.

Penalties: Wilfley 1.

Drop Goals: none.

OLD PUGET SOUND BEACH: 1 Kiernan Kennedy, 2 Owen Gonder, 3 Thomas Elliot, 4 Adam Patchett, 5 Brian Schoener, 6 Joe Evans, 7 Sam Cumming, 8 Chris Stone, 9 Nick Pallidino, 10 Justin Sturrock, 11 Eric Nelson, 12 Aaron Wohlzon, 13 Michael Steward, 14 Nolan Allen, 15 Ryan Bishop, 16 Wes Keyes, 18 Mark Litke, 19 Royal Smalley, 20 Eric Stacy, 21 Burk Tauilii, 22 Casey Nelson.

Coach: Vili Lino

Tries: 3

Conversions: Ryan Bishop 3

Referee: Phil Griffith (National Panel - Boston)

Touch Judges: Tom Coburn (National Panel)

Dan Hattrup (Eastern Rockies)

Attendance: 500

About Denver Barbarians Rugby Club

The Denver Barbarians Rugby Club was founded in 1967. The Barbos have supplied many players to all levels of select side play including the Eagles, the United States National Team. In addition, many referees, coaches, and administrators at all levels have emerged from the Barbos ranks. The Club has won championships at the National, Territorial, and Local level in both 15's and seven-a-side play.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado, Inc.

The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado is to help children reach their full potential through professionally supported, one-to-one, volunteer mentoring relationships with measurable impact.

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The Denver Barbarians Rugby Club wishes to thank our sponsors:

Republic Financial Corporation: a privately held company with investment interests in a diverse portfolio of operating companies and assets.

Heineken: Brewed since 1863, Heineken was the first imported beer to reach America's shores in the 1880s and following the repeal of prohibition in1933. Since our inception in 1995, Heineken USA has been a leader in theimported beer segment, and has built a reputation for high quality and for excellence-both in the products we sell and the manner in which we conduct our business.

Impact Sports Performance: Colorado's premier sports training facility.

British Bulldog Pub: Restaurant and pub, with a wide selection of imported beers, in downtown Denver.

PrintPointe: Business communications featuring full-service printing & copying center.

Chiropractic of North Denver:Chiropractor services at 8472 Federal Blvd. (303) 429-0011

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