Dubbed "UBC's best rugby team ever" won 21 of 22 games, were Vancouver, BC and Western Canadian University champions as well as World Cup victors over previously unbeaten UCLA. Averaged over 25 points per game while allowing only 5.7 points against. Considered by rugby aficionados this year as the finest team in North America.
Peter Bliss, Rob Burns, Jack Shaw, Bob Jackson, Eric McAvity, Andy Beane, John Squeo, Barry Legh, Spence McTavish, Eric Lillie, Rod Holloway, Ray Banks, Dennis Quigley, Bob Jickling, Garth Henrikson, John Mitchell, Donn Spence (coach), Doug Hume (manager).
Dubbed "UBC's best rugby team ever", the Donn Spence coached XV of 1970/71 carries a distinguished honour, especially when one considers the rich legacy of this sport dating back to UBC's very beginnings. This UBC Thunderbirds team won 21 of 22 games, scored 552 points, were Tisdall Cup winners (Vancouver First Division champions) and were proud possessors of the McKechnie Cup (champions of British Columbia). Using superior style and finesse, they also defeated a previously unbeaten UCLA team to win the World Cup, emblematic of collegiate rugby supremacy on the West Coast. According to veteran Vancouver Sun writer Arv Olson, this season's UBC Thunderbirds were without question the finest team in Canada, if not all of North America. When comparing this team to the great UBC teams of the past, the conclusion was that none of the other distinguished teams were as well balanced as this UBC Thunderbirds team. None possessed the quantity and quality of this team, were as explosive or completed the season with such a high winning percentage. UBC's defense was airtight as well. They allowed an average of 5.7 points against them per game and in their 22 games allowed only seven tries to be scored upon them. That is less than one try every three games!
Individually, the offence was led by the powerful and deceptive running of Spence McTavish and John Mitchell and the kicking of Ray Banks. According to coach Donn Spence, McTavish was "a coach's dream come true." Eric Lillie and Dennis Quigley provided desire and playmaking ability. Barry Legh was a sure-handed catcher and superb tackler. Bob Jackson was considered one of the best forwards in Canada while Eric McAvity was, in Spence's estimation, "an unbelievable athlete." Jack Shaw was one of the most rugged players ever, as was Rob Burns. Peter Bliss, an Australian, was a mature, intelligent player. Law student Rod Holloway had the honour of captaining this fine team. Garth Henrikson, Andy Beane, "all guts" Bob Jickling and the team's "glue," John Squeo, rounded out the squad.
With a 21-1 record and victories such as 44-0 over Washington State, 45-3 over Seattle, 40-3 over James Bay, 51-8 over Vancouver Red Lions, 35-11 over University of Alberta, 22-6 over University of Victoria and 30-9 over Georgians, Donn Spence was asked to explain his team's resounding success. "Conditioning, attitude and comradeship made the difference this season...they had pride in themselves and their team" stated Spence. Spence added, "We and the swimmers were the best conditioned athletes on the campus." According to the Sun's Olson, they succeeded because they were united, because each and every one of them strived for the same thing. "This was a team of 15 All-Stars in their own right - perhaps a super-team."
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
