VANCOUVER – Following a bye-week the well-rested UBC Thunderbirds women's rugby team is back in action this weekend as they host the Alberta Pandas to close out the Canada West regular season Friday, October 12 at 3 p.m. at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.
The 'Birds (2-2) sit second in the Can West standings and will be looking to rebound following a late game heartbreaking 10-5 loss to rival UVic in their last outing two weeks ago in Victoria. Despite enjoying their fair share of possession in rainy conditions the T-Birds were unable to capitalize in key moments while in threatening territory due to some untimely knock-ons. UBC winger
Vivianna Johnson late second half try tied the game at 5-5 but the Vikes were able to respond by scoring in the final minute to secure the 10-5 win.
The Alberta Pandas (1-3) who enter the contest occupying fourth place in the standings hope to conclude regular season on a high note while trying to bounce back from last Friday's 24-10 loss to the first place Calgary Dinos. It will be a tough west coast weekend for the Panda's who've lost three straight contests, following Friday's tilt at UBC they'll head across the water to meet the (2-2) UVic Vikes two days later for a Sunday late morning kickoff at 11:30 a.m. in Victoria.
Thunderbirds head coach
Dean Murten is hoping for cleaner execution from his squad and believes the bye week will prove to be beneficial.
"I think the break will have done us good," said Murten. "We have a small squad this year and some players have played every minute of every game. We must make better use of the chances we generate against Alberta, we had a lot of the ball in the right areas of the field against Victoria but we didn't do the right things at the right time while a few handling errors let us down. We need to be a little better with our decision making and core skills."
Murten also sized up the Pandas ahead of Friday's meeting.
"Alberta are a very good direct physical team," continued Murten. "They have some key players that we need to shut down. They could have very easily have been 4-0 at this point of the season. I am expecting them to play a very direct physical game."
