The four-round competition is being hosted by Barbarians as a bit of fun over the summer months.

Friday night was the first round and, despite the rain, more than 30 players pulled the boots on. 

“We thought the rain would kill it,” Barbarians publicity officer Sam Piddington said. 

It didn’t.

“We still had 35 blokes turn up,” Piddington said.

He’s spoken to several others since who were interested but thought it would be called off.

“It was very positive,” Piddington said.

“We had enough for four teams.”

They each played two games.

“The boys had a lot of fun,” he said.

There was a bit of sliding around in the mud.

One of the most pleasing things was the mix of players.

They were hoping to attract players from outside the club, which they did.

“We had a couple of Armidale Blues blokes, a couple of (Armidale) Rams guys and a couple of new blokes to town,” Piddington said.

“Probably only half of them were Baa Baas.”

The four teams are aligned to a different sponsor. They are New England Mutual, Sportspower, Jackson’s Quality Meats and the St Kilda Hotel.

New England Mutual and Jackson’s Quality Meats were the best round one performers.

They won both their games.

The next round will be on December 13.