Game Report: May 27, 2006

On May 27th, the U10 and U12 squads for the Barbs played in their season's first tournament, hosted by the Niagara Wasps.  The turn-out was excellent, and it was a great day for minor rugby with teams participating from Brampton, Burlington, Oakville, Niagara Falls, Markham and of course ourselves. This tournament is the first of five official events for the season, which includes events hosted by the Barrie RFC at York University in association with the Churchill Cup in June and then Saturdays at Brampton, and Oakville and Lindsay. While the Barbs aren't hosting our own tournament this year, the wrap-up fixture in early September is at Fletchers and so we'll enjoy home field advantage.

In the Niagara Falls' event, the boys and girls of the U10 participated in, what was for many of them, their first tournament.   The 20 participants displayed great teamwork and determination throughout despite losing one game by a small margin of one try in the last second of play.   As one of the youngest teams in the league, the U10 team performed exceptionally and always remained competitive.    At the U12 level, the first game played against Brampton demonstrated that our Barbarians were in fighting form - so much so that we amended the schedule to take on the tougher, larger teams from Markham and the Crusaders. The day ended with two wins, a tie and a loss for the U12 team - not bad for the team's first outing of the season, and the first competitive game many of these kids had played.

The program for minor rugby has swelled in numbers incredibly this season, with the U10, U12 and U14 teams numbering more than 100 participants.