Dramatic overtime victory for Steamboat Springs in Rugby's 2009 Cowpie Classic

July 15, 3:01 PMColorado Rugby ExaminerRick Gustafson

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Steamboat Springs (green) vs. Wyoming in Cowpie Classic Final
Photo by Rick Gustafson

With three games already under their belts for each team and thunderstorms rolling down the Yampa River Valley, most sports might have postponed the fourth game until the next day or at least until the rain stopped, not so for the Finals at the 35th Annual Cowpie Classic in Steamboat Springs.

When the all clear for lightning was given, Steamboat Springs Rugby, winners of Pool 1 play earlier in the day, took the field vying for their third consecutive Cowpie Classic Championship against Pool 2 winners the Wyoming Cowboys.

In a steady downpour that continued throughout the entire contest, both teams slipped and slid up and down the field in a scoreless first half. Wide and short penalty kicks were as close as either team had come to scoring when time expired at the end of the second twenty minutes.

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Steamboat won the extra-time kickoff with a round of round of rock-paper-scissors during the brief intermission, and the two teams were at it again. Ten minutes into extra time, the Cowboys threatened deep, and a shirttail tackle stopped a breakaway that might have ended the game with a Wyoming victory.

Steamboat quickly turned things around and, after the day’s one hundred and seventy minutes of rugby, won the their third straight Cowpie Classic Championship when flanker Charlie Pappas broke several tackles to score the game’s only points.

The Cowpie Classic is an Annual tournament and received 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.”

New to Rugby?
Rugby is normally played in two forty-minute halves (thirty for high school) with a ten-minute halftime. The clock continues to run through the game unless a serious injury prompts the referee to stop time. During one and two day tournaments, such as the Cowpie Classic, play is often shortened to forty minutes to allow teams to play multiple games in a single day.