VICTORIA – The UBC Thunderbirds started strong on the road and despite a resurgent second half from the hosts, the 'Birds managed to get past the UVic Vikes by a score of 28-22 Friday afternoon at Wallace Field.
The T-Birds who picked up their third consecutive victory enjoyed a 20-3 half time lead before the Vikes battled back in scoring 19 points after the break to make it a compelling affair between the longtime rivals.
"That was a hard-hitting, physical game. Those guys came out pretty aggressively today and tackled us well. I like the way we hung in there and wore them down in the end. Who knows? If we get a score just before half, maybe this is an entirely different ball game," said Vikes Head Coach
Doug Tate.
The visiting unit jumped out to an early 10-0 10 minutes in off a
Jack Scher penalty goal and one of
John Jubenvill's two tries on the day.
Jenner Teufel got in on the penalty goal frenzy in the 12
th minute, but the Thunderbirds added another of their own to keep the Vikes at an arm's distance apart, 13-3.
Jubenvill cleanly intercepted a pass in his own zone and ran in untouched for the try in the 19
th minute, which gave the T-birds their 20-3 lead at the break. It marked the second week in a row the Vikes coughed up an interception which immediately led to points.
"We had good scrums this afternoon and we were right in this game. I liked how our guys came out in the second half and I thought our fitness outlasted theirs and I thought we wore them down," said Tate.
Following
Callum Botchar's try for the Thunderbirds, the Vikes made their run.
On the ensuing kick, the Vikes won a scrum and worked the ball up the left wing for the speedy
Liam Mahon for his first of two tries on the day.
Again with th ball in the 54
th minute, Jarvis Dash used a great juke step to create a massive gap. Once his momentum halted, he shoveled it off to Liam Morrision, who continued to drive down the field. The ball eventually worked its way over to the other sideline where
Gavin Kratz recorded the try for the second week in a row.
Scher's third penalty goal of the match gave the Thunderbirds a little more breathing room in with 20 minutes to play, but despite a couple great rushes, the Vikes couldn't get any closer.
"I can't be mad at this result. We fought hard against a really good team and held them in check," said Tate.
With the loss, the Vikes drop to 2-0-3 on the season while the Thunderbirds improve to 3-0-1 and earned valuable points in the Legends Cup and The Boot Battle.
Named after Brian Wightman, The Boot is an annual competition between UBC and UVic – which once included Simon Fraser University and Stanford University – where the highest point total between the two clubs is awarded The Boot. The two-time defending Canadian University National Champion T-Birds are looking to defend both the Wightman Boot title and Legends Cup bragging rights from last season after winning both fixtures against the Vikes.
The Vikes are back in action Oct. 19 when they host the Nanaimo Hornets at Wallace Field. Meanwhile the T-Birds host Castaway Wanderers RFC at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre Saturday, October 19 with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
