Who are the Barbos?
Barbos are more than just ballers…
The Barbos are men that come from all walks of life. Just like the dichotomy of a typical rugby team where you find players who are tall, short, broad, skinny, slow, fast, etc. etc. etc., the Barbos are also exceptionally diverse in so many ways. The club takes pride in being made up of players of multiple nationalities, ethnicities, and backgrounds. When the Barbos won the 2018 National Championship in 15s, the team consisted of black, white, brown, American, French, Australian, Tongan, South African, Canadian, and English personnel. The team even had one player with red hair!
The Barbos also attract a wide range of men with varying degrees of athleticism and rugby skill. Whether someone just graduated high school and has never picked up a ball before, or if they’ve just retired from international rugby and want to keep playing at the local level— the Barbos have seen it all, and welcome all with open arms. As long as recruits have the attitude of wanting to be the best they can be while lifting those up around them, then the Barbos want them at the club!
Finally, the Barbos also have an enviable record when it comes to developing world class rugby players who go on to play the game at the highest level. There’s a legitimate case to be made about the Barbos producing more USA national players than any club in the country. So not only is the club an extremely diverse and inclusive one, it has also produced a long list of elite players which whose rugby legacies are documented below…
Barbarian Eagles Player Profiles
A total of 44 Barbarians have represented the USA National Side, the Eagles, over the clubs history. Of these players, 28 became an Eagle AFTER first representing the Barbos— aka, a lot of home grown talent!
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Doug Straehley
BARBO: 1980-89
EAGLE: 1983-84
15s Caps: x2 -
Dave Poquette
BARBO: 1981-89
EAGLE: 1988-90
7s Caps: x11 -
Fred Paoli
BARBO: 1983-91
EAGLE: 1982-83, 85-89, 91
15s Caps: x20 -
Steve Laporta
BARBO: 1984-92 (player) 1986-2022* (coach)
EAGLE: 1988-91
7s Caps: x14 15s Caps: x2 -
Ray Nelson
BARBO: 1985-86
EAGLE: 1983-91
15s Caps: x25 -
Russ Isaac
BARBO: 1986-90
EAGLE: 1989
15s Caps: x2 -
Michael de Jong
BARBO: 1987-94
EAGLE: 1990-91
15s Caps: x9 -
Mark Vandermolen
BARBO: 1988-2002
EAGLE: 1992
15s Caps: x1 -
Robert 'Bobby' Lockrem
BARBO: 1995-2000
EAGLE: 1996, 2000
7s Caps: x12 15s Caps: x2 -
Matt Alexander
BARBO: 1995-98
EAGLE: 1995-98
7s Caps: x5 15s Caps: x24 -
Barry Daily
BARBO: 1996-2000
EAGLE: 1989-91
15s Caps: x12 -
Juan Grobler
BARBO: 1996-2000
EAGLE: 1996-2000
15s Caps: x33 -
Andre Blom
BARBO: 1997-2000
EAGLE: 1998-2002
15s Caps: x13 -
Bart Furrow
BARBO: 1998-99
EAGLE: 1998
15s Caps: x4 -
Andre Bachelet
BARBO: 1998-2002
EAGLE: 1993-1998
7s Caps: x20 15s Caps: x33 -
Robby Lumkong
BARBO: 1998-2003
EAGLE: 1994, 96-98
7s Caps: x5 15s Caps: x29 -
Link Wilfley
BARBO: 1999-2001, 2005-08
EAGLE: 2000-03
15s Caps: x20 -
Riaan Hamilton
BARBO: 2000-02
EAGLE: 2003-05, 07-08
7s Caps: x58 -
Jone Naqica
BARBO: 2000-07 (player) 2022* (coach)
EAGLE: 2001-09
7s Caps: x132 15s Caps: x8 -
Kevin Whitcher
BARBO: 2000-08
EAGLE: 2001-02, 04-06
7s Caps: x65 -
Mike Coyner
BARBO: 2001-02
EAGLE: 1998-99, 2002
7s Caps: x23 -
Doug Brown
BARBO: 2002-04
EAGLE: 1999-2000
7s Caps: x25 -
Doug Rowe
BARBO: 2002-05, 13
EAGLE: 2003, 05
7s Caps: x8 15s Caps: x2 -
Jason Kelly
BARBO: 2001-07
EAGLE: 2006-07
15s Caps: x2 -
Matekitonga Moeakiola
BARBO: 2002
EAGLE: 2007-15
15s Caps: x32 -
Tyson Meek
BARBO: 2006-08, 13-14
EAGLE: 2004, 06-07
7s Caps: x17 15s Caps: x2 -
Nic Johnson
BARBO: 2006-11
EAGLE: 2009-11
15s Caps: x18 -
Mark Bokhoven
BARBO: 2006-10
EAGLE: 2005, 07-12
7s Caps: x116 -
David Williams
BARBO: 2006-08
EAGLE: 2004-07
15s Caps: x9 -
Dave Hodges
BARBO (coach): 2007-09
EAGLE: 1996-2004
15s Caps: x53 -
Mike Mangan
BARBO: 2007-10
EAGLE: 2005-07
15s Caps: x12 -
Mark Aylor
BARBO: 2007, 16
EAGLE: 2006-08
15s Caps: x7 -
John van der Giessen
BARBO: 2008-09
EAGLE: 2008-11
15s Caps: x20 -
Hayden Smith
BARBO: 2007-08
EAGLE: 2008-11, 14-15
15s Caps: x22 -
Justin Stencel
BARBO: 2009-10
EAGLE: 2005-06
7s Caps: x25 15s Caps: x1 -
Mikey Garrity
BARBO: 2011-15, 19
EAGLE: 2016
15s Caps: x2 -
Ben Pinkelman
BARBO: 2012-17
EAGLE: 2016-2020
7s Caps: x216 15s Caps: x4 -
Paul Emerick
BARBO: 2014
EAGLE: 2003-12
7s Caps: x62 15s Caps: x53 -
Ata Malifa
BARBO: 2014-16
EAGLE: 2009-10
7s Caps: x11 15s Caps: x4 -
Ke'Von Williams
BARBO: 2014-17
EAGLE: 2016-Present
7s Caps: x253* -
Martin Iosefo
BARBO: 2015
EAGLE: 2014-Present
7s Caps: x305 15s Caps: x11 -
Nick Boyer
BARBO: 2017
EAGLE: 2018-19
7s Caps: x5 15s Caps: x1 -
Cody Melphy
BARBO: 2017
EAGLE: 2018-Present
7s Caps: x50 -
Jack Wendling
BARBO: 2019
EAGLE: 2021-Present
7s Caps: x11
Barbarian Eagles in Action
Below are a few video highlights of some of the Barbos who played on the national stage. To those of you who represented this country before video cameras were invented— we’re sorry for your lack of representation below.
Fred Paoli, Barry Daily Michael de Jong, & Ray Nelson
More often than not, when there’s one Barbo on the field, then it’s usually a safe bet that there might be another one or two as well.
Here’s some highlights from the 1991 Rugby World Cup match between the USA and Italy. Although the result wasn’t what we wanted, the Barbos are proud to say that there were FOUR Barbos who started in the match.
The four Barbos in this match amassed 66 USA rugby 15s caps between them.
Ray Nelson
Racking up 25 caps for the Eagles in 15s and a handful of games for the Barbos, Ray Nelson was a handy player in multiple areas.
He represented the USA in the 1987 and 1991 World Cups, and collected 27 points against Japan in the 1987 tournament. His highlights from this game are shown in the video on the left.
His 27 points was a USA record for a single player in one match, until it was broken in 2003.
Bobby Lockrem, Juan Grobler, Matt Alexander, Andre Bachelet, & Robby Lumkong
Even more impressive than the video above, is this match between the USA and Canada in 1996.
One third of the starters on the field for the USA were all Barbos at one point in time. That’s right, there were FIVE Barbos starting for the USA.
They amassed 121 rugby 15s caps between them.
Juan Grobler
When he wasn’t suiting up for the Denver Barbarians, Juan Grobler played for the USA Eagles. Between the years of 1996-2002, he clocked up 35 points over the course of 33 appearances.
This memorable try was against Australia in the 1999 Rugby World Cup, and was also the ONLY try scored against Australia that tournament— who went on to win the Webb Ellis Cup and be crowned world champions.
Jone Naqica
At one point in time Jone led the USA in terms of total points scored for country by an American player. The record of 411 points is no longer number 1, but this guy is certainly still number 1 in the hearts of many Barbo fans and players!
The highlight video on the right is just one magical moment of many which Jone tallied up during his decorated career.
Jone has recently returned to Barbos in 2022 to help the next generation of players as a coach, and help the team on their goal to winning another national championship!
Matekitonga Moeakiola
This guy has about as many vowels in his name as he’s got caps to his game. Matekitonga represented the USA 32 times in rugby 15s over the years.
Anyone who played with him will say he was a dynamic prop with a well-rounded game.
In the video highlight, he shows off his strength and skill with a try against England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Hayden Smith
Although he only played one season with the Barbos, there was something about the club which ignited a spark in Hayden to propel him on a rugby career that took him all around the world.
Hayden played in two Rugby World Cups for the USA, and multiple seasons for Saracens in the UK, and inbetween all the rugby, he even managed to play a season for the New York Jets as a tight end.
His story, which he tells in this video, is remarkable for more reasons than one.
Ben Pinkelman
Starting in high school, Ben Pinkelman played Barbos rugby in both the 7s and 15s versions of the game. He racked up multiple seasons before graduating to the world stage.
As a professional, Ben represented the red, white, and blue again in both 7s and 15s. He went to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the 2019 Rugby World Cup, along with numerous World Series 7’s Tournaments in-between.
Ben has had countless brilliant moments representing the Barbos and the USA. One of his best seasons was in 2019 when he was selected to the HSBC Dream Team for the 2019 7s season— implying he was one of the best international 7s players on the planet for that season. No other Barbos made the team that year.
Besides playing rugby, Ben enjoys taking long walks barefoot, pwning noobs in video games, and being an overall nice guy.
Ata Malifa
To play with Ata was a privilege, and to play against him was a daunting task to put it lightly. Stature wise, he was average, but physically he was consistently the hardest hitter of anyone on the field every time he laced up the boots.
Once he amassed a few seasons with the Barbos playing in the PRP competition, Ata went on to play for the Denver Stampede in the PRO Rugby competition, and then the Glendale Raptors in the MLR competition. He has since retired, but maybe with a little luck we’ll see him back around the Barbos again down the road…
Ke’Von Williams
Picking up rugby in 2013, Ke’Von was a natural. It didn’t take long for him to find his way from playing at the University of New Mexico Highlands to the Denver Barbarians— often driving 5 hours the morning of a game to make it from his home in New Mexico to the Barbos match in Colorado.
After just three years of club rugby, Ke’Von was called up to the national scene, where he has been a mainstay for the USA 7’s program since 2016.
More recently at the time of writing (2022), Ke’Von captains the USA side. When he’s not playing rugby or working on his left-handed pass, he’s hanging out with his wife and two young children.