The 12th annual Cougar Classic Rugby tournament brought together some stiff competition this weekend at the Collicutt fields.
In the end, the Lindsay Thurber Raiders senior boys took home the title with a 29-21 win over the Notre Dame Hounds from Saskatchewan and the Raymond High School Comets were the class of the girls’ bracket.
The Comets earned gold with a dominant 49-0 win over the Notre Dame Hounds.
Head coach Dan Bikman said he really felt it was a complete team game that helped capture the title more than other years. He said it was a full team effort across the board.
“Couldn’t pick a star,” he said. “That’s what is fun about this year’s team. We’ve had a strong program for a long time, but this is probably the most balanced set of players I’ve ever had in terms of the attack across the board. Rugby is such a team sport, but to see the kids play together the way they did is a lot of fun as a coach.”
Raymond opened the gold medal match with a pair of quick tries, something that usually goes the other way for his team.
“Traditionally, when we play them, they score first on us and wake us up. Sometimes we’ve been able to claw back and sometimes not. This group was just ready, awesome group of kids,” Bikman said.
Bikman added that they’ve been attending the Cougar Classic since its inception and will continue to come back as long as it keeps going.
“Love it, we come here every year and it’s one of the highlights of the year. The whole school is awesome. The calibre of teams that come are great. We love it. We love the city– Red Deer is a great spot,” Bikman added.
On the boys’ side, six teams competed and on the girls, 11 battled for the title.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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