This last weekend the Northern Colorado Flamingos took the field as they squared off against the Denver Barbo’s. This wasn’t a league match but still a huge battle for the team. The Fort Collins Flamingo’s, now the Northern Colorado Flamingo’s have not had a good recorded when it comes to the Barbarians. Over the last seven + years the Fort Collins (NoCo) Rugby team has lost every game when facing Denver. This season we showed up to the match with a different outlook, more confidence and the will to win.
Knowing that we were going to face Super League athletes and a very technically skilled team we came out with our aggressive style of rugby and showed Denver that we were here to play. It was a back and forth match for a full 80 minutes of play but in the last five minutes Denver came away with a breakaway try to tie up the game. As the final whistle blew the score was 29 to 29, not a loss. Though we would have liked to walk away with a win, controlling the field position while implementing our game plan was a huge accomplishment for NoCo Rugby against such a skilled team.
Man of the Match goes to Brian Hyland, inside center. Brian played a fantastic game of defense, he was in the Barbo’s faces all day long. Being aggressive both offensively and defensively gave the Barbo’s a rough time trying to work against him in the back line. Congratulations Brian.