More 7's & the Barbarian's Season

This weekend, a few rugby-ready Buffaloes traveled up to Seattle's new rugby fields in Magnuson Park to play in Beach's annual 7's tournament. While light in numbers, the herd gave it their best in the small tournament, but were outmatched by their opponents. According to Joel Swenson, the fella's all had a good time and learned a lot against tough opposition. They'll be ready for the next big tournament coming up July 4th - the Freedom Fest 7's at Fort Lewis. Good luck Buffaloes.

The Barbarians also hosted their End-of-Season Awards Banquet last week, honoring the time, commitment and success of the players (and parents!). Coach Trevor Anderson had this to say:

The 2009 Barbarian season was a huge success. We fielded an Under-15 side for the first time ever with many of the young athletes being instrumental in the U17's State Championship win! A couple stand out players, Tossi McCarthy and Justin Henry are going on to represent the Budd Bay Barbarians as Pacific Northwest U17 Loggers - our regional representatives.

In a real tough U19 division, we saw our Barbarians rise to Budd Bay's standard of class, courage, and commitment, placing 3rd in Washington State while sending over half a dozen young men on to the U19 Loggers. Taylor Briscoe led the way as both a force and a leader on the pitch during our matches and training, earning a spot on the Logger team as Forwards Captain. Taylor was also selected to represent the United States during a recent trip to South Africa to play for the USA U18 Eagles at the World Championships. With the many team-wide successes this year, we expect big things from our Barbarians heading into next years season!

We also look forward to seeing those graduating Barbarians in the area stick around and apply their skills at the senior level, competing with Barbarian alumni and the rest of the Buffaloes as they strive to defend this year's title and the #14 national ranking.

This year's Barbarian award recipients include:

U-19	Recipient
Best Forward	Taylor Briscoe
Best Back	Dan Conklin
Most Improved	Josh Vega
Rookie of the Year	Logan Rose
Coaches Award	Aaron Turcotte
U-17	Recipient
Best Forward	McCarthy “Tosi” Tonuao
Best Back	Nicholas Detzler
Most Improved	Jacob Durr
Rookie of the Year	Justin Henry
Coaches Award	Campbell Glass

Scott Lavalla Earns First Cap

Scott Lavalla became the first member of any Budd Bay Rugby club to earn a senior national team cap, as he started at No. 8 for the USA against Argentina June 10. Scott played a very solid game in the 35-14 loss (not his fault!). Here's a photo from Ian Muir.

Weekend Update - Buffalo 7's & Ellensburg

The 15's season officially came to an end this weekend, with the Barbarians wrapping up the season with a tournament east of the mountains for the Cascade Classic in Ellensburg, WA. The boys had a stellar weekend, winning two matches on Saturday against Yakima and Montana before losing to another side from Montana on Sunday. Coach Quirke reported that the boys had a wonderful experience and all matches were played with intensity, few errors and with honor to the game, opponents and officials. Great work Barbarians.

The Buffaloes kicked off the summer 7's season this weekend at ORSU in Portland. A big thank you goes out to Matt Beagle, Alex Q, Mike Radasa and "new" Joel for stepping up and playing hard. The Buffaloes picked up four players from Butte Montana to balance out the numbers. The first match was lost to ORSU 41-0. Next, the Buffaloes took on Valley and lost a real close one 22-17. The last match was against the Missoula Maggots, aka The Sickness, who played hard but fell to Budd Bay! It was such a match that no one remembers the final score, but the Buffaloes did walk away the winners. Way to represent Buffaloes!

Weekly Update: U17 Barbarians = State Champions!

This weekend, the U17 Barbarians won the Washington State U17 Championship, beating Liberty RFC by 20-15 at the final whistle. Coach Pete Sullivan remarked, "it was awesome to watch our young fellas win the U17 State Championship on Saturday. In a match where Liberty were clearly the favorites, our kids played with so much heart and passion. The likes of Carrick, McGregor, Tossi, Paul, Nick, Ethan and Cody Hartsoch played so well, and overall, it was a great day for the club. I was very proud to watch them play." Interim Head Coach Jerry Quirke was very proud on the day as well. "The boys played tough, competitive rugby and they ruled the day! We couldn't have asked for a better performance."

The U19 Barbarians went unchallenged for 3rd place in the division after a forfeit by Harbour RFC.

In other news, the 2009 Pacific Northwest U19 Logger's have been selected. Athletes from Budd Bay are a major force on the team this year - Barbarians and a Buffalo. Your representatives on the select side are:

U17

Tossi Tonaa / Justin Henry / Jeff Henke / Luke Richmond

U19

Jed Elam /Aaron Turcotte / Logan Rose / David Correa / Taylor Briscoe / Dan Conklin / Jesse Fox / Trevon Gault

Congratulations to all the players making the side. This demonstrates the skill, passion and commitment Budd Bay athletes make for the game.