VANCOUVER -- They say that a club's best team is the fifteen players that take the field on any given Saturday. While there may have been some concerns at the start of this game about the number of UBC regulars missing from the starting line up such as Quinton Willms (Surrey, B.C.), Andrew Coe (Markham, Ont.), James Thompson (Dromore, Northern Ireland), Nathan Rees (Pontypridd, Wales), Manar Kulkhan (Port Moody, B.C.), Cully Quirke (West Vancouver), Thomas Roche (Winnipeg) and Connor Hamilton (Vancouver), there was never a doubt in the minds of the coaches, Rameses Langston and Curry Hitchborn, and the players that the team on the field would perform to its potential and maintain the standard set over the course of this season.

The coaching staff have great belief in the whole Varsity squad, not only in what each player brings in his primary role but also in what each player can contribute in other positions on the field. With Quirke pulling out late with a knee injury, first year Niko Clironomos (Vancouver) stepped into the breach at outside centre partnering Brock Staller (Kitsilano) who moved into the inside centre from his usual wing position. Adam McQueen (Canmore, Alta.), who has played for most of the season at stand-off, showed his versatility by moving from his scrum half role against Seattle to full back. Theo Sauder (Vancouver) continued his education at stand-off while the reliable Liam Murphy-Burke (Surrey, B.C.) and Sean Hickson (Nelson, B.C.) started on the wings. Clironomos became the 30th player to represent the Birds during this half of the year and, with just seven players taking part in all eight games, this provided further indication of the competitive depth of the squad.

With the unrelenting wind and rain, it was fortunate that the game was played on the Ken Woods Turf field which remained firm underfoot compared to the standing water and heavy conditions on the adjacent Wolfson East grass field. This allowed both teams to play positively with the ball in hand, as well as to kick strategically to exploit the available space behind the tackle line and to turn the defense round. In the first half UBC put an enormous defensive pressure on the Burnaby attack close to the contact and in midfield, keeping the visitors pinned in their own half for long periods of time. The Burnaby defense was also resolute only cracking on a few occasions. UBC prop Taylor appeared to have unlocked the Burnaby defensive line when his deft one handed offload sent back row Connor Weyell (North Vancouver) clear only for referee Mason to call a forward pass. Then Sauder appeared to have made the left corner after the referee played advantage following a Burnaby knock on in midfield. He was denied by a great covering tackle. The Birds' only points in the first half came from the boot of Brock Staller (Vancouver), who entered the game having scored exactly 100 points in his previous seven games. Both penalties came as a result of UBC's strong scrum. Two infringements by the visitors resulted in Staller converting both opportunities and to give the home team a 6-0 lead at the half.

There was no respite from the weather in the second half with the rain and cold appearing to increase. UBC continued its defensive pressure, consistently knocking the Burnaby runners back in the tackle to get its go forward momentum. In attack there were a number of penetrating runs that almost resulted in tries while Sauder turned the defense round with a series of penetrating kicks. As the UBC pack got stronger the break finally came following a series of scrums close to the Burnaby line. When referee Mason judged continual infringement a yellow card was issued to the visitor's prop. UBC continued to apply the pressure by opting for another scrum and were eventually awarded a penalty try. Staller converted and the score stretched to 13-0. UBC made three changes with two coming in the forwards. Prop Neil Courtney (North Vancouver) came on for the impressive Taylor and Nakai Penny (Penticton, B.C.) came on for the busy flanker Jake Ikeda (Vancouver). Both players had an immediate impact. Penny produced two crushing tackles to drive the visitor's ball carriers back while Courtney sustained the pressure at the scrum and got involved in carrying the ball at the Burnaby defense.

It was a fitting end to the game when Courtney grabbed the final try of the game, his fourth of the season, taking the team's total to 43. Staller converted again and game finished at 20-0 for the Birds. The victory took the team's record to 8-0, having scoring over three hundred points and outscoring its opponents by an average of 37 to 14.