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.

Budd Bay Email Groups

Everyone in the Budd Bay RFC community may notice a few changes on our website. We are attempting to enhance and promote communication among all our members and keep everyone informed of team events, match results and general club news.

One such change is the "News & Updates" section located on the main page of our website. This is for all announcements from the club. The next change is the "Google Group" email listserve. The adult teams have been using such a list for many years successfully. This year, we add the U19's to the Groups. All club-wide announcements will automatically be distributed to each teams email group, so no one should miss anything!

If you would like to sign up for the email group, please visit your team's homepage by clicking on one of the links above this article. You can also sign up for any of the other teams you may be interested in. If you are already signed up with YahooGroups (adult teams only), you will be transitioned to the new site in the coming months, so you don't have to do anything and you won't skip a beat!

Don't forget - you can also see what's scheduled by clicking on the Club Calendar on the upper right hand of most pages. And, as always, if you have specific suggestions for something you would like to see included on the site, let me know!

Cheers,
Dan

Budd Bay Bandit Makes PNW Grizzly Squad

Megan Sanders, a rookie with the Bandits in her first season, has been selected to the U23 Grizzlies, the Pacific Coast's All-Star team.

This rare honor will pit Megan against some of the best women ruggers in the nation - something she is excited to take on.

"I'm excited to play at this new level and learn all I can from the experience! Thank you Budd Bay for all you have done for me, getting me ready for this amazing opportunity!" - Megan

Megan will be kitting up to play in the National All-Star Competition (NASC) on June 13-14, 2009 in Pittsburgh, PA.

"We are very proud of her accomplishments on the pitch. She earned this spot through her hard work all season. Megan has what it takes to seriously compete at the higher level. Congratulations Megan!" - Dan Smith, Coach

If you would like to make a donation to help offset Megan's travel costs, she would be most appreciative. As a starving college student, travel to the East Coast is not always that easy.

Good Luck Megan! Keep us posted!

Checks can be made out to "Budd Bay RFC / Bandits" and mailed to:
Budd Bay RFC
c/o Bandits
5702 22nd Ave SW
Lacey, WA 98503

Please indicate your donation is for player support.

Budd Bay Buffaloes Earn National Berth

Team first from state to win Northwest title

BY GAIL WOOD | The Olympian • Published May 15, 2009

Chris Cousins wasn’t sure what to expect when he took over as player-coach for the Budd Bay RFC Buffaloes, an Olympia men’s rugby club.

But Budd Bay RFC did the unexpected by winning the Northwest Rugby Division III championship, becoming the first Washington team to win the title and advance to nationals.

The Buffaloes, with players ranging in age from 19 to 46, fly today to the national tournament in Austin, Texas. They’re seeded 14th after finishing 11-2-1 for the season and will play Beaumont RFC, Southern California’s No. 1 seeded team, at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“I never expected this to happen,” said Cousins, who became player-coach a year ago. “We were in transition. Our coach stepped down last year. I stepped in, and being a player and going into a coach’s role … it was a hard dynamic to go from peer to coach.”

If Budd Bay RFC wins Saturday in the 16-team tournament, it will advance to the round of eight and play on Sunday. If the Buffaloes lose, they’ll play a consolation game Sunday.

“It’s the first time a Washington team has done this,” Cousins said. “There’s never been a team from Washington that’s made it to the national tournament for Division III.”

Budd Bay has been a regional runner-up to Oregon teams several times in the past decade. The team was formed in 1998.

“From the start, we laid it out on the table,” Cousins said. “They decided they wanted me to coach. To be honest, I don’t know how we did it. But they put up with me running them to death at practice.”

Bud Bay RFC will be the only team at nationals with a playercoach.

“With our level of talent and the experience we have, it was the best fit,” Cousins said.

Cousins, the team’s scrum half, leads the Buffaloes in scoring. He has played rugby for 17 years and has played on an Army national championship team.

Other key players include Dan Santana, second-leading scorer Mike Radasa, flanker Cody Smith, eighth man Alex Queirolo and hooker Zach Dona. The team has 36 players making the trip.

If the Buffaloes win games both Saturday and Sunday, they’ll be among the final four teams to play the next weekend in Boulder, Colo.

“Nobody expected anything from us. We’re going to surprise some people,” Cousins said.

Budd Bay RFC beat Eugene, Ore., 51-10, in the Northwest championship game last month to earn the trip to nationals.

Gail Wood: 360-754-5443

gwood@theolympian.com