Babas put up strong State effort

The Bunbury Barbarians did themselves proud at last month’s inaugural RugbyWA Under 15s Sevens tournament in Perth, narrowly missing the finals.

Held at Britannia Oval on July 21, the competition drew 15 teams from around WA.

The modified game, which is played with seven players on each team, will be introduced as an Olympic sport at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

All teams played four fixtures in the round-robin competition before the best performing teams went on to compete in the finals.

The Barbarians were drawn against Wests Subiaco, University, Southern Lions and Perth-Bayswater, with all games displaying entertaining and competitive fast-paced Sevens rugby.

The Barbarians, who are more accustomed to playing the 15-a-side format, did themselves proud against high quality and well-drilled opponents.

They lost tight encounters against University and Wests Subiaco and fought hard against Perth-Bayswater and Southern Lions.

In senior competition, the Barbarians took on competition leaders Curtin University Goats at Leschenault Reserve and were defeated in both A and B Grade.

In B Grade, Issac Huey crossed for the Babas, but his team trailed 7-5 at half-time on their way to a narrow 12-5 defeat.

Bunbury’s best players were veteran Derek Hunter at hooker and loose forwards Cameron Johnson and Tyson Waiwiri.

With a third of the A Grade team unavailable, the Barbarians struggled against the dominant Goats and went down 57-0.

This week, Bunbury host Joondalup Brothers.