The UBC Thunderbirds earned a 22-7 victory over the University of Victoria Vikes on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre to capture the first leg of the historic Wightman Boot.


 
"The weather isn't an excuse today, we tried to keep it simple and tight," said UBC head coach Curry Hitchborn after a tough test against a familiar rival. "UVic's defence put us under the cosh and we had to make some adjustments that exposed their strengths, exposed our weaknesses and we found ourselves playing a bit of catch up – even though we had the lead. That's what UVic does to you, they make you feel like you're playing catch up at all times. We need to manage possession better and understand the profile of the teams we're facing. We need to get out of our way. It's easier to keep a knife sharp than it is to put a brand-new edge on a dull blade so we need to stay sharp at all times."
 

?? MRUG | @UBCRugby scores the first try of the game off of a break putting them up 5-0 over @uvicvikes. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/7uGCnG96NY

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 16, 2021

First-year T-Bird Landon Clironomos opened the scoring in the 19^th minute after intercepting a Vikes kick and running it in nearly untouched to make it 5-0 UBC – a score that would hold until halftime. Early in the second half, Takoda McMullin broke through the line and offloaded to Clironomos who found Jacob Bossi for the try and a 10-0 advantage. Victoria quickly responded in the 45^th minute with a Zarija Djurickovic try that Chris Gamage converted to cut the lead to 10-7 Thunderbirds. The home team would regain their cushion with an Ethan Berry try in the 64^th minute that Takoda McMullin converted for a 17-7 edge, before Bossi scored his second try of the afternoon to lift the T-Birds to a 22-7 victory in the first leg of the Wightman Boot.


 
"Everybody wants to beat us," said Hitchborn as the 'Birds now look to build off of a hard-fought win over Victoria. "Every game, every team we face it's their biggest game of the year, so the pressure is on us. They know it, we know it and it's about finding that commonality to come out the back end with a favourable result despite what's in front of us."

 
Scoring Summary
 
First Half
19' UBC – Landon Clironomos try 5-0 UBC
 
Second Half
41' UBC – Jacob Bossi try 10-0 UBC
45' UVIC – Zarija Djurickovic try (conversion Chris Gamage) 10-7 UBC
64' UBC – Ethan Berry try (conversion Takoda McMullin) 17-7 UBC
69' UBC – Jacob Bossi try 22-7 UBC