KU alumn mourns loss of father, wins U.S. Rugby Bowl

Marco Barnard does not dictate his game through his words — he goes out and he plays. Unimpressed by media attention and all the limelight that goes with it, he does his job game in and game out, making him one of the best players KU Rugby has seen in a long time.

As the USA’s 7’s team traveled to Las Vegas to play for the Bowl, each player carried hopes and aspirations of receiving the trophy, hoisting it high in the air after winning, and then commencing celebrating with his teammates.

Barnard, no doubt just as excited and prepared as the rest, had other things on his mind. Just days before the team left for Vegas, his father, Lorenzo Barnard, died Wedensday, Feb. 10 at his home in South Africa.

After contemplating whether to join his team or fly home to be with his family, Barnard decided that his father, an avid rugby fan, would have rather seen his son participate in one of the biggest games of Barnard’s young life.

There is no doubt Barnard is a competitor. After suffering multiple concussions and playing with a broken bone in his hand, Barnard is respected by both his 7s teammates, as well as his former teammates at KU. Playing with injuries, as well as emotionally dealing with the sudden death of his father, Barnard’s teammates rallied behind him.

After losing to South Africa, the U.S. went on to win four straight games (against Canada, Guyana, Argentina and France) and, in the process, won the Bowl for the U.S. Many players and coaches could have hoisted that trophy high in the air, giving several victory pumps along the way.

This is the moment of which each player had dreamed, having played this scenario over and over in his head since he began playing. But even as the trophy came their way, each player pushed Barnard to the front of the line, and with trophy in hand, he raised it in the air.

Even after all the injuries, the sweat and grind of the game, the loss of his father, Barnard posted a small grin as he lifted the trophy up in the air. Barnard is a man who asks for very little, giving everything he has in return.

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 19th, 2010 at 5:10 am and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.