Raymond Comets fall to defeat in SV game against LCI Clippers

Westwind Weekly News Photo by Meg Noguchi. Raymond Comet girl's rugby team played against Taber W.R. Myers at Ken McDonald Memorial Sports Complex yesterday.

By Garrett Simmons
Westwind Weekly News

You can always take something away from a loss.

Whether it’s a lack of execution, a lack of effort or something in between, a loss can set the stage for a team to build a template to help get back on top.

For the Raymond Comets senior varsity girls rugby team, the hope is last Thursday’s 20-5 setback to the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Clippers will serve as an early-season turning point.

It was a game where not much went right for Raymond, according to Comets coach Dan Bikman.

“They’re a good team,” said the coach. “They beat us in essentially every way we could be beat.”

LCI earned a win over its classic southern Alberta rival for the first time since 2008, as the Clippers used a ball-possession formula that Raymond typically employs on a match-to-match basis.

“They really disrupted our offence,” said Bikman. “We usually have 80 per cent of the possession and I’d say we only had about 20 per cent of the possession.”

The coach added Raymond played a disorganized game against the Clippers, which played a part in his team only scoring five points on the evening.

Raymond’s JV team did earn a decisive win over LCI.

On the weekend, Raymond’s senior 15s team was in Okotoks for a festival, as the team went 4-0.

“We won all of our games and no one scored on us,” said Bikman, who added his team cruised to victories by average scores of about 40-0, save for one contest that ended 15-0.

The Comets took out two Okotoks teams, Foothills and Holy Trinity, and also defeated Harry Ainlay and Henry Wisewood.

“The kids played better,” said Bikman. “Overall, it was a good weekend because we really sharpened up our game.”

Raymond’s 7s team also had a solid Saturday at a tournament in Lethbridge, as the Comets went 2-1, which included wins over Catholic Central and Vulcan and a loss to LCI.

This week, the Comets opened play last night (Wednesday) in Taber against W.R. Myers (score unavailable at press time).

This weekend, the senior 15s team will be in Edmonton, at a tournament that will feature traditional powerhouse programs like Sturgeon Composite and Rimbey, along with LCI, a team Raymond could meet in the semifinals.

“There’s also a handful of good Edmonton schools,” said Bikman. “We’ll get some good games in for sure.”

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