Hot off a 75-0 victory in week 1, the Chicago Griffins visited Milwaukee in the Division 1 home opener for the Barbarians
Under perfect conditions, the match began with caution from both sides and lots of great defense that continued for nearly the entire first half.
After 35 minutes the Barbarians were ahead 7-0 after an early try by Justin Paterson (and conversion by Vigder) and a narrowly-missed 60-meter drop-goal attempt by Joe Gardener.
But a pair of quick tries in the closing minutes of the first half saw the Griffins head into the break with a 12-7 lead.
The Griffins found their stride in the second half with four unanswered tries — including one short-handed score following a yellow-card by the visitor’s 8-man.
With 5 minutes left, the Griffins had held the Milwaukee offense to a single penalty kick and were ahead 33-13.
But the Barbarians battled bravely even with the scoreboard now firmly against them. Veteran 8-man Ben Smith crashed over at 75-minute mark and Dustin Bell a few minutes later.
The Barbarians clearly had momentum in their favor but at full time they still trailed by 8 to narrowly miss a bonus point. Final score: 33-25 for the visitors.
Roster
#1 – Cwiklis, Kyle
#2 – Smolensky, Eric
#3 – Kloiber, John Paul
#4 – Schwalbe, Ray
#5 – Smith, Benjamin
#6 – Grams, Joseph
#7 – King, Damon
#8 – Cebe, Jeffrey
#9 – Patterson, Justin
#10 – Vigder, Nick
#11 – Bartlett, Robert
#12 – Strenk, Brian
#13 – Gardener, Joseph
#14 – Drzewiecki, Matt
#15 – Albert, Michael
#16 – Bastian, Benjamin
#17 – Nowak, Robert
#18 – Castillo, Paul
#19 – Rhodes, Charles
#20 – Walczak, Ryan
#21 – Petfalski, Jeremy
#22 – Bell, Dustin
#23 – Ash, Timothy
Match Stream
MIN
EVENT
SIDE
SCORE
DETAILS
16′
TR score
MIL
5 – 0
#9 – Patterson, Justin
17′
CV score
MIL
7 – 0
#10 – Vigder, Nick
32′
IJ sub
MIL
7 – 0
Off: #1 – #1 – cwiklis, kyle On: #17 – #17 – Nowak, Robert
36′
BL sub
MIL
7 – 0
Off: #2 – #2 – Smolensky, Eric On: #18 – #18 – Castillo, Paul
37′
TR score
CHIG
7 – 5
#8 – Youngman, Henry
38′
CV score
CHIG
7 – 7
#10 – Suniula, Andrew
39′
TR score
CHIG
7 – 12
#14 – Marek, Patrick
40′
TC sub
MIL
7 – 12
Off: #4 – #4 – Schwalbe, Ray On: #16 – #16 – Bastian, Benjamin
40′
TC sub
CHIG
7 – 12
Off: #7 – #7 – Ochoa, Miguel On: #19 – #19 – Fogarty, Lant
44′
PK score
MIL
10 – 12
#10 – Vigder, Nick
54′
TR score
CHIG
10 – 17
#13 – Peterson, Scott
55′
TC sub
MIL
10 – 17
Off: #2 – #2 – Smolensky, Eric On: #18 – #18 – Castillo, Paul
55′
CV score
CHIG
10 – 19
#10 – Suniula, Andrew
57′
TC sub
CHIG
10 – 19
Off: #6 – #6 – Pellegrino, Sam On: #16 – #16 – Henley-Lewis, De’Autre
58′
TR score
CHIG
10 – 24
#10 – Suniula, Andrew
59′
CV score
CHIG
10 – 26
#10 – Suniula, Andrew
60′
TC sub
MIL
10 – 26
Off: #7 – #7 – King, Damon On: #20 – #20 – Walczak, Ryan
60′
PK score
MIL
13 – 26
#10 – Vigder, Nick
62′
TC sub
MIL
13 – 26
Off: #11 – #11 – Bartlett, Robert On: #23 – #23 – Ash, Timothy
64′
Y card
CHIG
13 – 26
#8 – Youngman, Henry
68′
TC sub
MIL
13 – 26
Off: #13 – #13 – Gardener, Joseph On: #22 – #22 – Bell, Dustin
69′
TR score
CHIG
13 – 31
#15 – Anderson, Jordan
69′
TC sub
CHIG
13 – 31
Off: #5 – #5 – Dwyer, Thomas On: #17 – #17 – walcott, nicholas
70′
TC sub
MIL
13 – 31
Off: #6 – #6 – Grams, Joseph On: #19 – #19 – Rhodes, Charles
70′
TC sub
MIL
13 – 31
Off: #9 – #9 – Patterson, Justin On: #21 – #21 – Petfalski, Jeremy
70′
CV score
CHIG
13 – 33
#10 – Suniula, Andrew
75′
TR score
MIL
18 – 33
#5 – Smith, Benjamin
75′
TC sub
CHIG
18 – 33
Off: #14 – #14 – Marek, Patrick On: #22 – #22 – Miller, Michael
75′
TC sub
CHIG
18 – 33
Off: #8 – #8 – Youngman, Henry On: #20 – #20 – Debartolo, Don
Vic has a long history in and around the sport of rugby both in Canada and the US. He has played for and started numerous clubs (Vandal's RFC, Strathcona Druids, Suffolk Bull Moose, Westside Harlequins, Milwaukee Barbarians, Hamilton Girls Rugby), and served many roles over the years at all administrative levels. Vic joined the Harlequins in 2007 and remained an active club member through the transition to the Barbarians. These days, he spends his rugby time playing tag rugby and touring with the Old Boys, keeping the club website updated, helping organize the Lakefront 7s, and fundraising.