VANCOUVER – It's that time of year again when the UBC Thunderbirds make noise on the national stage and this season should be no different when they head east as the number one seed for the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championships kicking off Wednesday, November 24^th and running through Sunday, November 28^th in Kingston, ON.
 
The T-Birds, who've claimed two of the three titles up for grabs since the introduction of the national championships in 2017 will have the chance to make an early statement at this tournament. The blue and gold are involved in the first game meeting the number eight seed Royal Military College Paladins on Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. PST (11:00 a.m. EST) at the home of the host Queen's Gaels, Nixon Field.


 
The competition consists of eight teams from the four University Athletic Associations across the country including the Canada West (CW), Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Atlantic University Sport (AUS), and Reseau du sport étudiant du Québec. Specifically joining #1 UBC and #8 RMC are #2 Guelph Gryphons, #3 UVic Vikes, #4 Queen's Gaels, #5 Concordia Stingers, #6 Dalhousie Tigers and the #7 ranked Calgary Dinos.


 
UBC enjoyed another solid campaign in 2021 that saw them amass a 4-1-1 record to finish tied for second spot in the inaugural season of the Coastal Cup, a newly formed high performance west coast league consisting of seven teams. Four historical regional teams and three university varsity programs which along with UBC included UVic and Trinity Western University whose men's rugby program only joined as an official varsity program in 2019.
 
The T-Birds secured early qualification to nationals thanks to success against fellow university competition including an early season 34-13 win over TWU while following that up with a 22-7 victory over rival UVic in mid-October.


 
"The group we have is very intelligent," said UBC head coach Curry Hitchborn in reference to what has impressed him about his squad's preparation and performance so far this season. "There's no hiding from them. Us coaches have to be sharp every time we set foot onto the training field because they're constantly motivated to learn more and apply it."
 
West coast teams have swept the championships since its inception in 2017 and should figure prominently once again in Kingston. The rivalry between UBC and UVic has only intensified with how often they've clashed and the dramatic nature of their gold metal meetings. It all started in 2017 when the 'Birds topped the Vikes 37-12 to capture the inaugural CUMRC, UBC successfully defended their title in 2018 with a 21-10 victory over Queen's before narrowly being denied the three-peat when UVic edged the T-Birds 21-20 for national bragging rights in 2019. Several players that were a part of those championships still remain on each team and will be using those memories both good and bad to fuel their hunger in 2021.
 
"Losing by one point to UVic the last time this championship was played in 2019 was an excellent experience for us, Hitchborn added succinctly. "We have not forgotten."


 
As for the 'Birds opening opponent, coach Hitchborn admits to not knowing much about the RMC Paladins who finished the OUA regular season with a 3-1 record ahead of their last outing a 34-0 playoff setback against Queen's in late October.
 
"I actually have no idea about RMC," commented Hitchborn. "We know so little about teams here so it's business as usual and we worry about what we can control. We're taking every team seriously and doing the work."
 


It all begins with the T-Birds meeting the Paladins Wednesday morning, November 24^th beginning at 8:00 a.m. PST.
 
You can watch every minute of tournament action at the live stream link below:
 www.youtube.com/queensgaels

UBC Thunderbirds starting roster vs. RMC 
 

CUMRC Schedule (Pacific Standard Time shown)

Wednesday, November 24
 
Quarter-finals
8:00 am - 1v8 UBC vs. RMC       
11:00 pm  - 2v7 Guelph vs. Calgary          
2:00 pm  - 4v5 Queen's vs. Concordia
4:30 pm  - 3v6 UVic vs. Dalhousie
                    
 
Friday, November 26
 
Championship Semi-finals
8:00 am Winner of 1v8 X Winner 4v5
11:00 am Winner of 2v7 X Winner 3v6       
 
Consolation Semi-finals
2:00 pm Loser of 1v8 X Loser of 4v5
4:30 pm Loser of 2v7 X Loser 3v6
 
 
Sunday, November 28
 
6:00 am 7th Place - 2 Consolation Semi-final Losers
8:00 am 5th Place - 2 Consolation Semi-final Winners
10:00 am Bronze Medal - 2 Championship Semi-final Losers
12:30 pm Gold Medal - 2 Championship Semi-final winners