Barbarians Lie in Wait in Deep South

With a 50-14 defeat of Niceville, the NOLA Barbarians now sit at 5-1 and in 2nd place in the Deep South.

(We have updated our article on Jesuit of New Orleans, which is 4-1 and has a good shot at 2nd, but the Barbarians are 2nd at present.) 

But there's a lot of rugby still to be played in the Deep South. The league-leading Bayous Hurricanes have gone 7-0 and have two games left; they are probably going to finish in 1st going into the playoffs. But some teams have barely made it past halfway. Jesuit of New Orleans is 4-1, but has four games left, including three in the space of nine days (it would have been four, but one, against Shaw, is down as a forfeit).

And the Barbarians are in that boat, too. At 5-1, they have three games, and three very difficult games, yet to play. The Hurricanes await on April 2, followed by the rescheduling of a weather postponement against St. Paul's (4-2), and then April 14 against Jesuit.

"We will be judged heavily on our last three matches against the other top three teams in our league," said Barbarians Coach Matt Austin.

The Barbarians have been able to get to this spot despite only have six returning players. Those six include No. 8 Cartrell Sutton, scrumhalf Jack Bourgeois, and fullback, Mike Hill, who have led the team ably. Centers Jonathan Mariano, Ronald Thomas, and Ruli Ray, and wings Dee Davis Jr. and Justin Scott, along with flyhalf Drake Rothelle, have stepped in and taken the backline to greater heights.

"They are getting better with every match they play together." said Austin. 

So far, the Barbarians' only loss was a bit of a shocker, 31-24 to new club Shreveport. But that was a game when nine starters were unable to make the trip to Western Louisiana. Since then, they have been very impressive, even as Austin guards against blowouts by running on the subs. He needs his younger players to get experience, as he knows next year's team will have to rebuild again.

"We don't have an active JV league in the Deep South, so it is important to get your guys game time whenever possible," said Austin.

The Barbarians are a new version of a classic club.  The veteran players came from the now defunct Lake Area and Warren Easton teams. That merger has led to a few headaches, but they are young and most of the team will return for next year. The trouble they run into is that they use players from six different schools on both sides of the Mississippi, so getting them all together for practice can sometimes be tough. But, the team's work ethic is a plus.

"I am impressed by the guts that some of my younger players have shown this year," said Austin. "It has earned them serious playing time that will be huge in their long-term development. We keep the game plan simple, aim to execute flawlessly, and let our athletes take it from there. We need to improve our knowledge of the game.  With so many rookies on the squad, rugby IQ is a very valuable commodity. The mistakes go away as they learn the laws and understand their roles on the pitch. The sooner they learn those, the sooner we can put a more perfect side together. We are becoming better rugby players and have to rely less on raw athletic ability."

So now we're down to the serious end of the season. The Barbarians could end up 8-1, but could just as easily finish 5-4 with the way the top teams are so competitive. St. Paul's has that big game against the Barbarians, and should win against Mississippi, but April 16 at Shreveport could be anyone's game, so St. Paul's could find themselves 5-4, 6-3, or 7-2. The Hurricanes will likely end up undefeated, but could be undone by the Barbarians. It's highly unlikely they will be worse than 8-1. Jesuit has those tough four games to come. They sit 4-1 and it's likely that 2nd, or even 1st, could be on the line when Jesuit faces the Barbarians on April 16.

Here are the Deep South standings along with the remaining games. Shaw Eagles games have all be listed as forfeits from now on. (Deep South does not give bonus points for four tries, only for close losses.)