Rugby's old boys mix it up at Steamboat's Cowpie Classic

July 13, 10:52 AMColorado Rugby ExaminerRick Gustafson

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Rugby's old boys in Cowpie Classic
Photo by Rick Gustafson

While the eight club teams battled it out in pool competition during the 35th Annual Cowpie Classic in Steamboat Springs (see story), the old boys mixed it up with some impressive rugby of their own.

Three old boy teams from the Front Range and mountain clubs competed in round-robin play at the Ski Town Fields in Steamboat on Saturday. With players as old as sixty-five, teams from Steamboat Springs, Boulder, and Colorado Springs pounded each other with little regard for their aging bodies during three forty-minute matches.

In the first round, the Boulder Old Boys defeated the Colorado Springs Old Boys by a score of 45-5. Two hours later Colorado Springs was at it again, this time against Steamboat Springs where they lost their final match of the day by a score of 31-7. Later that afternoon Steamboat springs continued their winning ways by shutting out Boulder 26-0.

The age thirty-five and older rugby league allows athletes to continue playing rugby and maintains a tradition of camaraderie found in few other sports. Many of the players have been playing rugby with and against each other for over twenty years, and old boys rugby renews friendly rivalries along with old friendships.

The Cowpie Classic got its name following a rugby tournament held near the Steamboat Springs rodeo grounds in 1973. During the night, livestock escaped onto the field, but play continued the following day despite the hazards left behind. Since then the Cowpie Classic has been an annual event for the Steamboat Springs Rugby Club that monikers itself as “Probably the best club in the world.”