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Steamboat rugby cruises past Glenwood, 61-0

Luke Graham
Steamboat Rugby Club captain Chris Baumann tries to clear a pile Saturday during a game with Glenwood Springs. Baumann was named the Man of the Match in helping Steamboat to an easy 61-0 win.
Luke Graham
Nigel Hammond runs for a try Saturday against Glenwood. The Steamboat Rugby Club easily won, 61-0. Luke Graham

— If you mess with the Baumann, you get the mustache. 

Steamboat Rugby Club captain Chris Baumann, with a Tom Selleck as Magnum P.I.-like mustache, has spent years proving he’s one of the most relentless young players in the country.  

And as is often the case, as Baumann goes, so does the rest of the club. 



Baumann spurred the Steamboat green and orange to an easy 61-0 win Saturday against Glenwood Springs. 

He scored on the first try on a sun-soaked day at Whistler Field in front of a crowd of more than 100. From there, the 241-pound Baumann set the tone for the rest of the day. 



“Chris Baumann was an animal today,” Steamboat coach Julian Bristow said.

The same could have been said about the rest of the Steamboat side Saturday. With a deep bench, Steamboat simply did whatever it wanted. 

After Baumann’s try made it 5-0 early, Matt Kane, David O’Malley and Nigel Hammond added tries in the first half to make it 22-0. 

“I’m new to the whole league,” said Hammond, who played two years of rugby at Eckerd College in Florida after graduating from Steamboat Springs High School in 2008. “You try to never think it’s going to be a blowout. We thought they would be better than Breckenridge, but we were executing better” Saturday.

Steamboat, which beat Breckenridge, 24-17, last week, saw its deep squad take advantage in the second half. Because of that depth, Steamboat was able to make four substitutions in the second half and run away with the game. 

Baumann added his second try of the game early in the second, and Tucker Brock and Jesse Johnson added two more tries to make it 39-0 midway through the second. 

Back for the weekend, JoJo Bucci scored two tries, Hammond added another and Nick Herrschaft added one for the final result. 

“I didn’t think we’d beat them like this,” Bristow said. “But our team has been working so hard. Everything just clicked.” 

Steamboat, now 2-0, preps for its biggest tournament of the year. The team will host Saturday’s Cow Pie Classic at Ski Town Fields next to the Tennis Center at Steamboat Springs.

The men’s draw has 10 teams, including the select traveling team Vandals Rugby Club out of Los Angeles, which features U.S. National Team prop Andre Liufau. 

The first matches that day begin at 9 a.m. In addition, the Steamboat Women’s Rugby Club will make its debut.

To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com


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