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Barbarians’ John Van Der Giessen to USA Rugby Team

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Contributed by: John Bowman on 7/6/2008

By Ken Matthews

John Van der Giessen, member of Colorado's top-ranked rugby club Denver Barbarians, has been selected to play for the United States National Rugby team,again. Van der Giessen, an Idaho native, previously played for the USA in the Churchill Cup tournament; involving England, Ireland, Scotland, Argentina, USA, and Canada, which concluded earlier this month. Following that competition, he was named a starter for the USA - Canada International rugby match, which was held in Chicago on June 21. Van der Giessen was on the USA National Rugby team for the 2007 World Cup tournament held in France last fall.

Van der Giessen now joins the North American 4 tournament, an annual competition between Canada East, Canada West, USA East, and USA West. The finals of this competition will be held at Infinity Stadium in Glendale, July 29-August 2. This competition is a continuing selection and evaluation vehicle for the USA National Rugby team, known as the Eagles. Van der Giessen will be joined on the North American Four squad by Barbarian teammates; scrum half Tyson Meek, flanker Nic Johnson, and Eightman Patrick Quinn. Meek and Quinn have played for the USA Eagles and Johnson joined them as North American 4 selections in 2007.

Van der Giessen, a 6'6" and 240 pound lock, joined the Barbarians in 2008, having previously played for Santa Barbara Rugby Club. Meek, a quick attacking halfback, played for the Barbarians in the 2006 and 2008 Rugby Super League seasons, using that experience to bookend a season for professional Division 1 rugby club Nottingham, England. Johnson. 6'3" and 230 pounds played for the Barbarians in 2006 and 2008, with a season of club rugby in New Zealand sandwiched in between in 2007. Quinn, who joined the Barbarians in 2003 following his collegiate career at University of New Hampshire, was voted the Barbarians' Most Valuable Player in the just completed Rugby Super League season. He was a defensive stalwart and a bruising ball carrier for the Barbarians, using his 6'3", 250-pound frame to good advantage. All four of these Barbarians select-side players are American born.

Denver Barbarians Rugby Club was formed in 1967 and has provided over 30 players to the USA Eagles in the course of its history. Denver Barbarians Rugby Club is the only Colorado member of the Rugby Super League, the top rugby club competition in the United States. The Barbarians fell in the 2008 Rugby Super League semi-finals to eventual winner New York Athletic Club this past May. For more information, go to www.denverbarbarians.com.

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

John Bowman

Denver , CO

John Bowman has posted 43 stories and 0 comments since joining on 3/14/2008. John Bowman 's average story rating is 5.

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