ABBOTSFORD – The UBC Thunderbirds continued their tradition of playing their best in the biggest moments by winning their third consecutive Rousefell Cup Saturday afternoon in Abbotsford. UBC jumped out to leads of 19-0 at halftime and 26-0 over Burnaby Lake an eventually won the match 29-17 before a raucous crowd at Abbotsford's Exhibition Park.
The 'Birds were all business in the first half as two tried by
Andrew Coe and one by
Elias Ergas gave UBC the hefty advantage at halftime.
Shortly into the second half, Coe found the scoring area again. After
Adam McQueen drove through his third conversion of the day and the score was 26-0, one could have forgiven the rugby fans in attendance for thinking the game was finished.
Burnaby Lake had other ideas. They would go on to score three tries in the second half including one in the match's final minutes to pull themselves to within nine of the 'Birds, 26-17. But that was as close as they'd get, as McQueen iced the game with a penalty kick in the dying seconds.
The game was the second consecutive year that UBC has defeated Burnaby in the Rousefell Cup final. In 2016 the 'Birds prevailed 27-12, while in 2015 UBC beat up on UVic in a 52-22 victory.
