A NEW passenger has joined the Outback Queensland Barbarians bus as the team travels south from Missoula through the Rocky mountains to Yellowstone National Park.
A trophy featuring a shiny porcelain maggot standing upon a base that reads “Most Honoured Side” is now a cherished possession of the team, and a symbol of one of the best rugby experiences any can say they have ever had.
The Missoula Maggot Fest is a two day celebration of rugby and rugby camaraderie involving 40 teams from America and Canada – and this year one from Australia in the form of the Outback Barbarians.
It kicks off with a huge party in downtown Missoula on Friday night, follows with two matches for every team on Saturday and a huge B&S style party on Saturday night, and ends with a final match for every team and then beers and farewells on Sunday.
The rugby is taken seriously – by the top teams at least – but the social side is considered even more important. There are no winners or losers of the overall tournament, except for one. The Missoula Maggots, the club that holds the festival as an annual fundraiser, awards a trophy each year to the team that is considered the Most Honoured Side – which was this year awarded to the touring Outback Queensland Barbarians.
In the words of the Missoula Maggots, the most honoured trophy is given to “the one team that has shined above the rest in demonstrating all the wonderful facets of the great game of rugby: cheery attitude, sportsmanship, and the ability to party like tomorrow’s not a worry.”
The Barbarians threw themselves into every aspect of the tournament. In presenting the trophy the Maggots skipper said: “They were always the first to arrive, and they were always the last to leave – we had to drag them out at the end of each night”.
The Barbarians probably paid for their commitment to the social aspect of the tournament on the opening morning when they lined up against a well-drilled, star studded and clearly fresher Howler’s Fire team from Canada.
Selected from players across British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, the Howler’s Fire team boasted five current Canadian internationals.
It was a fast and very closely contested match. The Barbarians had their opportunities but some simple errors in the form of dropped balls and held passes at critical moments proved costly. After a close tussle and a scoreless match for almost two full halves, the Canadian’s speedy outside backs scored two tries in the final 5 minutes to claim a 10-0 win. Despite the loss it was a gutsy effort by the Barbarians against high quality opposition and a performance to be proud of.
The Barbarians made easier work of their match against the Calgary Canucks club side from Canada on Saturday afternoon, taking the match 27-5. Under the captaincy of Mount Isa mining engineer and hooker Andy McGrath, the Barbarians worked their way into a dominant position by half-time and then opened the floodgates with tries to Murray Brooks, Jeff Suhr, Matt Tully and Ashley Kirk.
Despite another big night on Saturday the Barbarians saved their best performance of the tour for their match against the Billings Bulls on Sunday, a match that was played with just 20 minute halves. In a clinical performance built on a solid forward platform and skillful ball handling and gap-running by the backs the Barbarians ran rampant, scoring eight tries in 40 minutes of rugby to win by 52-0. Tries were scored by Zak Costar, Matt Tully, George Winks, Sam Rollinson, Ashley Kirk (2), Steve O’Leary and the team’s physiotherapist Justin Griffith from Longreach also touched down from a push over maul during a second half cameo.
The Barbarians now have a well earned rest for the next six days in which they will tour Yellowstone National Park and then take in the sights of Las Vegas prior to their next match against the Las Vegas Black Jacks on Saturday.
The Black Jacks play in the United States super league and will provide high-level opposition, so the rest will be much-needed for the battered Barbarians who have now played five matches in five days.
While there have been no major injuries a number of the players are carrying niggling problems and will welcome the rest.
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