After scoring four tries within its first 15 minutes of play, the Denver Barbarians secured a needed bonus point and easily shut down the visiting Old Puget Sound Beach 96-21, to slide into second place.

Also in the Red, San Francisco Golden Gate wrapped up the regular season at 25 points, dealing Santa Monica a 70-10 defeat. SFGG led just 15-5 heading into the break but soon pulled ahead in the second half, with Milemoti Pulu contributing three tries and Jone Naqica scoring twice in the big win.

Over in the White Conference, Dallas kept its playoff hopes alive with a 31-5 victory over Philly-Whitemarsh, picking up a bonus point to bring its season tally to 21 points and remain in second place. The Harlequins’ post season cause was aided further by NYAC, which clinched the conference title last week, but continued its dominance in its week eight showdown in the Windy City to grab the top seed in the playoffs.

A hard fought battle saw New York Athletic Club go up 8-0 before the half, and NYAC held off the Lions’ second half attack to hand Chicago its third loss of the season, 8-5. The narrow upset could spell the end of the season for the 2007 runners up, which last missed the playoffs in 2004.

“There was a very strong wind, which New York used to their advantage in scoring their eight points during the first half; however, we weren’t able to capitalize on that in the second,” said Chicago Lions Head Coach Marty Wiggins. “We made silly mistakes and unfortunately you can’t get away with careless errors when you’re matched up against a strong, experienced squad like NYAC.”

The Lions secured a bonus point for the close loss to go up to 16 points, with just a make-up match remaining against Washington next weekend.

“You always want to remain optimistic, but it’s really up to mathematics at this point. It’s disappointing, you can’t lose three games in a season and expect to easily advance to the playoffs,” Wiggins added.

The Chicago loss still leaves the playoff door cracked open for the Boston Irish Wolfhounds, which still have two games remaining, with the match-up between Boston and Washington RFC was cancelled on May 3. The rescheduled date is not yet determined, as both teams have a make-up game next Saturday. Boston is set to host the St. Louis Bombers, while Washington meets the Chicago Lions next weekend.

In the Blue Conference, Boston Rugby Club gave Charlotte an opportunity to overtake them in the standings, following a disappointing 20-20 tie against PAC. Now at 27 points, Boston’s lead over Charlotte was cut to four points on Saturday, as the North Carolina team picked up the bonus in its victory over St. Louis.

After trailing the Bombers 13-7 at the half, Charlotte went on an offensive rampage after the break to bring the final tally up to 38-18. Flyhalf Craig Errington led the way for Charlotte with 13 points, successfully booting five conversions and one penalty in the win.

“We played poorly in the first half, we didn’t have patience and turned the ball over many times as a result, but we certainly turned it around in the second half and ended up with five big tries,” said Charlotte Coach David Hamilton. “The results of today’s matches worked in our favor and I expect next week’s match against the Griffins to be a very good game - we’ve got everything to play for, in terms of getting a higher playoffs seed.”

Currently locked into second place and guaranteed a playoff spot with one game remaining, Charlotte stands a chance of stripping Boston of the Blue Conference title if it can secure a victory with a bonus point in its make-up match versus the Chicago Griffins on May 10.

The Griffins gave New York’s Old Blue its first victory of the season, with a final score of 22-15. As the game’s final minutes ticked down, Old Blue led by just four points, 19-15, but a late drop goal by Curtis Cunz sealed the win for the New York squad.

Rugby Super League Results – May 3, 2008
Denver Barbarians 96 – Old Puget Sound Beach 21
Belmont Shore 28 – OMBAC 17
San Francisco Golden Gate 70 – Santa Monica 10
NYAC 8 – Chicago Lions 5
Dallas Harlequins 31 – Philly-Whitemarsh 5
Old Blue 22 - Chicago Griffins 15
PAC 20 – Boston Rugby 20
Charlotte 38 – St. Louis Bombers 18
*Boston Irish Wolfhounds – Washington * rescheduled, date pending