Barbos Too Much for Bombers

Saturday, March 31, 2007 - Denver, CO

The Denver Barbarians put on an impressive display of powerful running and finishing ability in defeating the visiting St. Louis Bombers 63-19 on a breezy spring day in Colorado. The Barbos tallied four tries in each half and recieved outstanding performances from flyhalf Jason Kelly and #8 Pat Quinn. Kelly notched two tries and a had a near perfect day with his boot in breezy conditions, and Quinn's hard running and support earned him a hat-trick of tries.

Denver, playing with the wind at their backs in the first half, jumped out early when #8 Pat Quinn rumbled through the Bomber defense at the 3 minute mark to open the scoring. Denver flyhalf Jason Kelly converted for a 7-0 lead. Kelly added a penalty kick 10 minutes into the match, and the score would stay at 10-0 Barbos until the 25 minute mark when Denver began hitting their stride. Halftime could not come soon enough for St. Louis as Denver raced in for 3 tries in a 15 minute span. Denver lock Mike Mangan, Kelly and Quinn dotted down tries, and another Kelly penalty kick gave the Barbos a commanding 34-0 lead at the halftime whistle.

St. Louis got off to a good start in the second half when fullback Conail Boyd sliced through the Denver backline from 40 meters to put his side on the scoreboard. Halfback Andrew Pita's conversion brought the score to 34-7 Denver. Kelly added a dificult penalty kick soon after, and Mangan notched his second try to push Denver further up 44-7. Denver wing Matt Nockles picked off an errant Bomber pass and scampered in for a 49-7 lead. St. Louis captain and #8 Hayden Mexted powered over for a try, but Kelly quickly replied with another Denver try and a 56-14 lead.

Bomber center Eric Hinson finished off a chip and chase for the Bombers third team try, but Quinn's third try on the day at full time finished off a well deserved 63-19 Denver victory.

The Bombers are on the road again next week when they travel to Washington DC for a make-up match vs PAC on April 7. The next St. Louis home match is April 14 vs Philly at Sportport in Maryland Heights at 7pm. Bomber supporters will want to show up in force as this night match will be played on the main Stadium pitch at Sportport. This facility has seating for 1,500, concessions, beer stand, restrooms, and changing rooms. A big crowd will provide a terrific atmosphere for high-level rugby, so mark your calendars and tell your friends.

RSL Week 3
Venue: Shea Stadium, Highlands Ranch, CO
Surface: field turf (artificial)
Attendance: 150
Weather: 50 degrees, breezy, dry
Referee: Tim Luscombe (Eastern Rockies)

fulltime: Home: Denver 63 Away: St. Louis 19
halftime: Denver 34 St. Louis 0

Scoring:
Denver: tries: Quinn 3 (:03,:40,:80), Kelly 2 (:27,:45), Mangan 2 (:25,:56), Nockles (:60). cons: Kelly 3, cons: Kelly 7.

St. Louis: tries Boyd (:41), Mexted (:67), Hinson (:78). Cons: Pita 2.

St. Louis Bombers:
1) Lafata, Gio
2) Hess, Pat
3) Craig, Canaan
4) Reed, Phil
5) McGuire, John (Jim Hoffmann @60)
6) Witten, Josh (John Shen @38)
7) Rainey, Josh
8) Mexted, Hayden (c)
9) Pita, Andrew (Scott Giljum @ 62)
10) Monette, Rene
11) Ebner, TJ
12) Kloss, Alan (Eric Hinson @55)
13) Meyer, Brian
14) Stolarski, Tim (Justin Mastroianni @58)
15) Boyd, Conail