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By Alex Goff (Dobson Images photo)
A blast from the past is in the USA 7s camp as Brian Barnard takes a shot at making the national sevens team in Chula Vista.
Barnard, no relation to possible teammate Marco Barnard, hasn’t been in the USA mix since 2006, but he’s back in the mix now. The former Cal Poly All American was first capped for the XVs Eagles in 2006, playing against Ireland A, the New Zealand Maori, Barbados and Canada. He was the MVP of the 2006 North American 4 tournament, scoring a brilliant coast-to-coast try to get his Hawks into the final of that competition.
But coach Peter Thorburn didn’t select him after that, and injuries slowed his comeback. Barnard spent a year in Ireland playing for Trinity, and then joined the Olympic Club. His plan had been simply to play some rugby because he loved playing. The Eagles weren’t really on his radar.
In 2009 Barnard moved to San Diego to take a job with Farmer’s Insurance, and there OMBAC 7s coach Craig Hartley got him playing 7s. OMBAC made Nationals and the 7s Cup Championships Series, and it was in the latter tournament in Las Vegas that USA coach Al Caravelli tapped him for the 7s national team.
“The rugby was something I was missing,” Barnard told RUGBYMag.com. “Even though I’ve been traveling a lot for work, I got in shape for the tournament in Vegas and I thought I did pretty well. I wasn’t sure, but I thought I’d be able to fill a need there.”
Barnard’s employers will allow him to take some time to play with the team – if he makes the squad to go to Adelaide and Hong Kong – but the bigger thing is that Barnard feels he’s back.
“The difference is that last time they only ever looked at me at prop,” said Barnard. “When I started playing at OMBAC I played prop, but also center and wing. I was a wing at nationals, and I am looking to be more multi-positional.”
Barnard has continued to stay in shape, and most of the time works out on his own.
“Getting in shape on my own is more out of necessity because of my work schedule,” he said. “So I’ve had to form my own training style, and I’ve found I can push myself. I have had some good conditioning coaches and they send me a program and I just put in as much work as I can.”
Going into this week’s assembly with the USA 7s team, Barnard isn’t sure what to expect, but he’s coming in with some confidence.
“I was curious if I could still add value,” he said. “But I could never come forward because of my job situation. The commitment to be on the national team is growing more and more. But the timing worked out, I happened to be in shape and it all fell in the right way so I can at least give it another shot.”
That’s all any athlete wants.
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