Milwaukee, WI — On Saturday the Milwaukee Barbarians hosted the Palmer Dragons (Davenport, IA) for their 2017 home opener in the Midwest conference for USA Rugby Division 1.
With the same teams playing to a rare draw during the final match of the 2016-2017 season, both Milwaukee and Palmer were excited to put their off-season preparations to the test in a highly anticipated match.
The Barbarians began on the right foot with a try by winger Ty Ash at 1-minute mark following a Palmer handling error.
The Barbarians then starved the visitors for possession and exploded on offense with two additional tries by Ash and a try each for coach Joe Gardener and Joe Grams.
With the accurate boot of captain Nick Vigder converting tries (and landing seven of ten attempts (70%) throughout the match), the hosts had accumulated 33 unanswered points in the first 24 minutes.
Palmer then regrouped and recommitted themselves to their defense. By halftime, the Dragons had shut down the Milwaukee offense and answered with two tries of their own. At the whistle, Milwaukee were leading 33-12.
Second half
The second half was more balanced than the first with each team exchanging scores throughout. Ash got his fourth try at the 45-minute mark, Jeff Cebe crossed at 55 minutes, and Vigder slotted a pair of penalties.
Palmer scored three tries in the second half, but it wasn't enough to catch the Barbarians. At the full-time whistle, Milwaukee walked away with bonus-point victory on the back of a 51-33 scoreline.
On deck
The Barbarians hit the road for the next few weekends. Up first is a Division 1 match against the Blues in Kansas City. Division 3 has a bye this weekend.
Roster
Match Stream
| MIN | EVENT | SIDE | SCORE | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1' | TR score | MIL | 5 - 0 | #14 - Ash, Timothy |
| 2' | CV score | MIL | 7 - 0 | #9 - Vigder, Nick |
| 7' | TR score | MIL | 12 - 0 | #10 - Gardener, Joseph |
| 8' | CV score | MIL | 14 - 0 | #9 - Vigder, Nick |
| 11' | TR score | MIL | 19 - 0 | #14 - Ash, Timothy |
| 19' | TR score | MIL | 24 - 0 | #14 - Ash, Timothy |
| 20' | CV score | MIL | 26 - 0 | #9 - Vigder, Nick |
| 23' | TR score | MIL | 31 - 0 | #2 - Grams, Joseph |
| 24' | CV score | MIL | 33 - 0 | #9 - Vigder, Nick |
| 31' | TR score | PALM | 33 - 5 | #11 - Lourens, Gareth |
| 32' | CV score | PALM | 33 - 7 | #11 - Lourens, Gareth |
| 34' | TR score | PALM | 33 - 12 | #11 - Lourens, Gareth |
| 40' | TC sub | MIL | 33 - 12 | Off: #11 - #11 - Mross, Alex On: #21 - #21 - Leahy, Keenan |
| 41' | TR score | PALM | 33 - 17 | #8 - Maricelli, Glen |
| 42' | CV score | PALM | 33 - 19 | #15 - Simpson, Cody |
| 45' | TR score | MIL | 38 - 19 | #14 - Ash, Timothy |
| 50' | TC sub | MIL | 38 - 19 | Off: #6 - #6 - Gray, David On: #18 - #18 - Sims, Anthony |
| 50' | TC sub | MIL | 38 - 19 | Off: #5 - #5 - Ruys, Adam On: #17 - #17 - Konvalinka, Michael |
| 53' | TR score | PALM | 38 - 24 | #1 - Schultz, Dominic |
| 53' | IJ sub | PALM | 38 - 24 | Off: #15 - #15 - Simpson, Cody On: #22 - #22 - Loupee, Ryan |
| 55' | CV score | PALM | 38 - 26 | #11 - Lourens, Gareth |
| 55' | TR score | MIL | 43 - 26 | #8 - Cebe, Jeffrey |
| 56' | CV score | MIL | 45 - 26 | #9 - Vigder, Nick |
| 59' | IJ sub | PALM | 45 - 26 | Off: #13 - #13 - King, Austin On: #18 - #18 - Deig, Benjamin |
| 62' | IJ sub | MIL | 45 - 26 | Off: #10 - #10 - Gardener, Joseph On: #16 - #16 - Walczak, Ryan |
| 65' | TR score | PALM | 45 - 31 | #3 - Laursen, Terry |
| 66' | CV score | PALM | 45 - 33 | #15 - Simpson, Cody |
| 68' | PK score | MIL | 48 - 33 | #9 - Vigder, Nick |
| 68' | TC sub | MIL | 48 - 33 | Off: #14 - #14 - Ash, Timothy On: #20 - #20 - Mackie, Alexander |
| 69' | TC sub | PALM | 48 - 33 | Off: #7 - #7 - Young, Adam On: #16 - #16 - Morneau, Joey |
| 71' | TC sub | PALM | 48 - 33 | Off: #14 - #14 - Seeley, Dylan On: #20 - #20 - Holtschlag, Clarence |
| 80' | PK score | MIL | 51 - 33 | #9 - Vigder, Nick |
The complete and official match report can be found on the USA Rugby website.
