Both Comox Valley Kickers Rugby Teams were on the road to face off against the Nanaimo Hornets at May Bennett Pioneer Park on Saturday.
The Comox Valley Kickers Women’s team beat Nanaimo, 37-19. Tyra Schaad and Karli MacFarlane each scored two tries, while Lauren Sargent, Yui Okada and Maddie Yule scored singles for the Kickers. Christina Green-Speck added one conversion.
“It was a very back and forth game with a lot of physicality. The tone was set early on that this would be a hard-hitting game. Both teams played hard and wanted to win, and it came down to who wanted it more,” said team captain Natalie Nguyen. “I’m proud of how the team played. Everyone has improved so much from the first practice and things that we have been working on all season were being executed.”
The men narrowly lost to Nanaimo, 26-30. Devon Moore, Joe Barker, Trevor McGuire and Brandon Hudson scored for the Kickers, with Kyle Hall adding three conversions.
“It was a hard fought and physical game, that was well played on both sides. The tides turned against us when the scrums went uncontested due to Nanaimo not having a replacement front row player,” said team captain Hall. “We were quite dominant in the scrums and going uncontested did not allow for us to utilize our strength.”
There is a league-wide bye for Easter, with playoffs beginning April 23.
Both the women’s and men’s teams are continually recruiting players. No experience necessary. For more information, visit comoxvalleyrugby.ca.