Today the Milwaukee Barbarians Athletic Club hit the road for the Lighthouse 7s: week 2 of their 2015 summer rugby sevens campaign.
Similar to week 1, the Milwaukee-based rugby outfit travelled to Fond du Lac, WI with 3 full sides. At the morning Captains meeting, the following pools were drawn:
- Pool 1: Barbarians D1, Fond Du Lab D2, Sheboygan Silverbacks, Milwaukee Black-n-Blue
- Pool 2: Barbarians D3, Green Bay, Milwaukee Black and White, Fox Cities
- Pool 3: Barbarians D2, Oshkosh, Oconomowoc, Fond Du Lac D1
Seeding Round (pool Play)
The Division 1 and Division 2 sides were near-prefect in pool play. Division 1 didn’t give up a single point in their 3 matches and amassed 152 points: 58-0 over Fond Du Lac 2, 66-0 over the Silverbacks and 28-0 over the Black-n-Blue (forfeit win).
Division 2 had a good day also with comprehensive wins over Oshkosh (43-0) and Fond Du Lac D1 (40-7). But the highlight of their early play was a close 29-26 win versus Oconomowoc.
Division 3 had the pool of death draw of the day with both the Black and White (who took second place last week at the Leinies 7s) and Green Bay (Midwest finalist in the Eastern fifteens conference). They suffered two big losses against these opponents; 49-0 and 34-0, respectively.
With two losses, the Division 3 squad was not advancing to the Championship round. But with a final pool match, they salvaged the day with a confident 32-7 victory over Fox Cities.
Championship Round 1 (semi-final)
As in week 1 at the Leinies 7s, Barbarians Division 1 and 2 — each 3-0-0 in pool play — met in the semi-finals of the Championship round.
At the final whistle, the Division 1 team advanced to the final with a 38-5 victory. Ironically, the Barbarians Division 2 were the first team to score on the Barbarians D1 side all day.
Championship Round 2 (final)
The final was a repeat match-up of week 1: an all-Milwaukee final. Unlike the 33-0 shutout win for the Barbarians, this final was much closer and in fact was tied at 19-all at the end of regulation.
But the Barbarians kicked it up a notch in overtime to win the match 26-19, and thus took the championship for the second week in a row!
Consolation Final
The Barbarians Division 2 team were not done after losing on the semi-final: a rematch against Oconomowoc was scheduled for the consolation final.
Unlike the close match during pool play, the Barbarians found their groove and racked up an impressive 40-0 victory to end the day on a high note. The third-place finish is one spot higher than in week 1.
Next match
With two weeks getting match fit at local events, the stakes get a lot higher for Milwaukee Rugby in week 3 as the Division 1 and Division 2 teams head to Madtown 7s (Madison, WI) for their first event in the Midwest Sevens Qualifier Series.
The Division 3 team is scheduled to attend Harborfest 7s, a local event in Kenosha, WI.
