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The ten teams in the field were competing for the three WRFU seeds for the National Club Sevens championship final 16.
The Barbarians were the top seeds by virtue of a first place finish in last year’s Super Regional series.
At the end of pool play the Barbos were undefeated and had won the pool outscoring the opposition 150 to 19 and 24 tries to three.
Their fifth game pitted the Barbos against the Austin Elite in the semifinals, which Denver won 45-5.
In the opening minute a dropped ball created a quick try for the Elite, but after that the Barbos’ pressure defense and attacking experience showed through and a complete team performance saw them outscore the Elite by seven tries to one.
That win got Denver into the final against old rivals Aspen as the Gents had taken care of the KC Blues 24-5 in the other semi.
As they did in the previous game, the Barbos dropped the ball early which created a quick try for Aspen’s Mike Palefau. The score was converted for a 7-0 Aspen lead.
Denver secured the ensuing kickoff and controlled the ball through several phases of play resulting in a try to Ben Haapapuro and a 7-5 scoreline.
The teams battled to a standstill for the remainder of the first half.
In the second half the Barbarians turned the ball over and spread the Aspen defense with Teddy Omondi touching down in the second minute to give his side a 10-7 lead.
For the next couple of minutes the teams traded possession and penalties. Max de Achaval created a kick and chase opportunity which resulted in Dewon Reed outpacing the Aspen defense to the ball in the in-goal and a final score of 15-7.
Final:
Denver 15-7 Aspen
Semifinal:
Denver 45-5 Austin Elite
Barbarians’ pool matches:
Denver 50-0 Dallas Pirates (Reds)
Denver 31-5 Kansas City Blues
Denver 48-0 Oklahoma City
Denver 21-14 Dallas Harlequins ‘A’
