GUELPH, Ont. – The UBC Thunderbirds showed their class early in the inaugural Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship. The Thunderbirds looked sharp in the tournament's opening match Thursday, defeating the RSEQ champion Concordia Stingers 46-0 at Alumni Stadium in Guelph, Ont.
UBC, participants in the B.C. Premiership, dominated in scrums and possession, while the Stingers tried to hold off the Thunderbirds but had a difficult time stringing phases together.
"It's the work that goes in," UBC head coach
Rameses Langston said of his team's dominance in scrums. "We put a lot of time and effort into coaching our guys the appropriate skills to be successful in that area. When you get complete buy-in from 15 guys, you see the results on the field.
"We're happy to move on."
Fullback Fraser Hurst scored two tries, while centre Nathan Rees, loose head Clint Lemkus, eighth man Nick Allen, flanker Michael Smith, and hooker Cali Martinez each had a try. Outside half Theo Sauder had a penalty kick and three converts.
UBC was the more physical side and got on the board first after a series of early scrums deep in the Concordia end. Rees eventually touched the ball down in the seventh minute and a Sauder convert gave the Thunderbirds a 7-0 lead.
Sauder would add penalty kick from about 40 yards out and minutes later, UBC would produce its second try after they pushed another deep scrum across the line, with Lemkus touching down. The Thunderbirds added another try from Allen just before the half to take a 20-0 lead, before adding four more second-half tries.
"They got that first scrum and we were running backwards," said Concordia coach Craig Beemer. "They're obviously a smart team. They got penalties and immediately called for the scrum again. Our forwards learned a lot today.
"We haven't had any competition like that this year. Just playing today, even though it's a quick turnaround, will help us. Our guys really started to compete defensively a lot better in the second half. We brought our tackle height down a lot. That really killed us in the first half."
UBC will round out pool play Saturday with a match against the McMaster Marauders. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 noon ET / 9 a.m. PT. If the Thunderbirds win, they will earn a spot in the national final, which will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
