Dogs Outlast Haggis in a Mile-High Thriller

For the Denver Water Dogs’ first match of the season, they hosted Park City Haggis on the turf for a late 3pm kickoff. Used to playing much earlier in the day, the shadows were longer and the crowd a bit thinner than usual. Both teams entered the match 1-1, having each defeated the Denver Barbarians and fallen to the Aspen Gents. The Dogs came closer in their bout with Aspen, securing two losing bonus points, while Haggis walked away with none. Traveling across state lines is never easy in this league, but the Dogs were prepared for a fight regardless.

Haggis kicked off north to south and earned an early penalty, setting up a lineout at the Dogs’ 22. However, as would become the theme of the day, Haggis spilled the throw—Dogs prop Duncan Frost once again reprising his role from the Aspen match as the safest pair of hands on overthrows. A second Haggis lineout shortly after led to Duncan showing off his footballing skills, fly-hacking deep into the Park City half.

Haggis kept their composure and showed why they’re always dangerous with ball in hand, working their way back into the Dogs’ half and forcing a handful of penalties that earned them another lineout within 10 meters of the try line. But an errant throw called not straight gave the Dogs a chance to clear through the boot of Scott Nies, starting at standoff this match. Still, Haggis were relentless, driving deep into Dogs territory again until a knock-on and subsequent scrum allowed Nies to clear just outside Haggis’ 22.

A few phases later, a scrum penalty gave Sean Kilfoyle—moved one spot out to inside center and named Man of the Match—the chance to slot a penalty. 3–0 to the hosts.

Haggis responded quickly. Off the restart, they broke down the west flank, pushing to just outside the five-meter line before being held up in the tackle. The resulting scrum gave Kilfoyle room to clear. A lineout steal and break from wing Jacob “Expo” Goeppner put the Dogs on the front foot, and a strong carry from outside center Francis Goonan followed by a deflected grubber from Nies earned the Dogs a lineout deep in Haggis territory.

The dual-pivot combo of Nies and Kilfoyle paid off as slick hands out wide led to an Expo break just short of the try line. A series of tight carries and pick-and-goes from the forwards ended with skipper Christian Wiessing touching down on his return from injury. The conversion was good, extending the lead to 10–0.

The dual pivot combo of Scott Nies (left) and Sean Kilfoyle (right) paid off well for the Dogs in the first half.

From the kickoff, Haggis conceded another penalty—and a bit of backchat cost them an extra 10 meters. From just inside his half, Kilfoyle boomed it down to Haggis’ five-meter line. The Dogs were held up initially, but from the ensuing goal-line drop, the forwards went to work, setting a platform for a long skip ball from the #12 to Number 8 Zack Jessell. Jessell carried through multiple defenders before offloading to teenage sensation Sam Patterson for another five-pointer. Conversion missed, 15–0 to the home team.

With water called at 20 minutes due to the heat, the restart failed to go ten, resulting in a center-field scrum. From there, Nies put in an excellent territory finder, possibly a 50:22, though not given by the touch judge. Regardless, the Dogs stole the lineout yet again through Frost. A silky wrap-around offload to hooker James Delbozque sent the forwards charging toward the line, culminating in replacement flanker Jacob Russell forcing his way through for another try. Kick good, 22–0 Dogs and cruising in the Mile High City.

In firm control, the Aqua Canines (playing in white this day) built multiple phases into Park City’s half until a penalty gave them another platform near the line. A few forward carries and a sweeping move from Kilfoyle to Expo led to a sublime skip pass to Patterson, who dotted down in the corner for his second. Kilfoyle nailed the touchline conversion: 29–0 to the hosts.

Zach Jessell (center) was the Dogs do it all man with carries, scrummaging, and jumping in lineouts.

Haggis threatened late in the half, but the Dogs’ defense held firm. With the bonus point secured and a commanding lead, the Dogs rang the changes at halftime. Still, if there’s one constant in the RMR, it’s that Haggis will fight to the end.

Playing their trademark style—hard, fast, and wide—Haggis struck first after the break. From just outside the Dogs’ 22, they set a scrum and ran a simple dummy-switch move that freed fullback Sacha Martiny (moved to fly-half after an injury to Opetii Iongi). Martiny half-broke the line and offloaded to veteran Brad Kappos, who rumbled the full 22 meters to score under the posts. 29–7, and the men from Utah had life.

The Dogs threatened again off the kickoff, pounding the line with multiple pick-and-goes before being held up short—strong defending from Park City, who refused to quit.

For the next stretch, the Dogs created chances but couldn’t quite finish, with knock-ons and individual errors turning momentum back to Haggis. The visitors grew in confidence, even changing tactics by forgoing lineouts to play off scrums or quick taps leaning into their running style.

After several powerful phases, Haggis were held up in goal. The Dogs tried to get clever with a cross-field goal-line dropout, but the kick went astray, and Kappos pounced for his second. Martiny converted: 29–14, and Haggis were very much alive.

Moments later, Haggis hooker Scott Strong (formerly a center) went on a hard charging run, breaking multiple tackles before offloading to support. A Dogs knock-back led to a scramble, and winger Tosh Wilcox scooped and scored. Conversion over: 29–21, with water on to signal the final quarter.

As the Dogs emptied the bench, 8-man Jessell shifted to his former home in the front row, immediately earning a scrum penalty. From the ensuing lineout, Nies called a simple shape to reserve and dangerman Sefo Selevasio, on for Kilfoyle after an injury. Sefo broke through midfield and played a give-and-go with Expo to finish under the posts. The conversion missed, leaving it 34–21, a two-score game.

Sefo (left) and Expo (right) hook up for an important second half score.

The Dogs couldn’t secure the restart cleanly, and Haggis punished them, holding possession for nearly three minutes before scoring in the corner. A pinpoint touchline conversion from Martiny brought it to 34–28.

After the restart, Haggis’ Timothy Piper exploited space in the backfield with a perfect 50:22. Two minutes later, they scored again. This time, Martiny’s conversion just clearing the bar to give Haggis their first lead, 35–34.

For the first time all day, the Dogs trailed. But Jessell went to work again, forcing a scrum penalty and setting up a lineout five meters out. Park City held strong through multiple phases, eventually forcing the Dogs to settle for another scrum deep in Haggis territory.

From that scrum, Sefo made a half break and offloaded to Nies, who was dragged down by the tip of his jersey. Another offload to reserve scrum-half Sam Seymour and a high tackle gave the Dogs a penalty right in front (though some say Jessell scored in the corner under advantage). Sefo stepped up and slotted it, reclaiming the lead, 37–35.

Skipper Christian Wiessing (lifted) returned from injury to make an immediate impact throughout the park.

But there was still time. Haggis went for the short restart—it looked perfect—but Captain Christian soared to claim it, offloading to Jessell, who rumbled into Haggis territory. With control secured, the Dogs decided not to sit on the lead. Seymour directed traffic, setting a forward pod before Sefo unleashed a long ball to reserve Harold “H” Hernandez. H dummied inside, broke down the left flank, and linked with Seymour again, who sniped around the ruck and sprinted in under the posts. Extras good: 44–35 final, and the Dogs held on to steal a bonus point from the men from Utah.

Neither side will have to wait long for a rematch, as the Dogs travel to Utah on October 11th to push ahead in the RMR standings. Park City turned around quickly, defeating the Denver Barbarians the next day 31–10, while Aspen put the Men in Green to the sword 83–22 on October 4th.

With those results, Aspen sits comfortably atop the table with no losses and 15 points. The Water Dogs follow in second with one loss and 12 points. Haggis, having played one extra match, sit third with 11. The 2023 D2 National Champion Denver Barbarians find themselves in an unexpected rebuild, holding the bottom of the table. 

(photo cred: Scott Smith)