VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (4-0) are looking to finish a third straight regular season without a loss when they host the second place Victoria Vikes (3-1) at 1:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.
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The U SPORTS No.4-ranked T-Birds have been absurdly dominant at home this year, outscoring their three previous visitors by a combined total 230-0 as they head into their fourth straight match at Point Grey.
"What stands out to me most about this run is that we've played as a team," commented UBC head coach
Dean Murten. "Sometimes it can be very easy to become individuals when you score a few tries. We have continued to work hard to implement the attack patterns we have been working on."
The second place Vikes are the only team to have scored on the 'Birds this season, giving the blue and gold its only real test of the year in a 29-12 UBC victory at Victoria.
"Last time we played them we made a few basic errors that allowed them to get into the right areas of the field to score," said Murten "UVIC has one of the best attacks in the conference, and don't need a second chance to score, therefore our basics need to be the best. We also need to step up our defence, we allowed them to score too easily in the last game."
Despite the T-Birds holding a clean sheet streak that extends more than three and a half matches, Murten is adamant that his team still needs to improve on that side of the ball if they want to secure a fourth straight conference championship.
"The key is defence, we need to be 40% better in stopping teams scoring going into this game and Canada West," declared the sixth-year head coach. "If teams do score, we need to stay calm, no panic. I think we also need to test a few younger athletes in a game against the second ranked team in the conference, hopefully the experience they gain will pay off in the Canada West Championships."
Saturday's game will also see a big group of senior athletes honoured as they play their final home match as Thunderbirds. 10 members of the team are set to move on at the end of the year, and Murten shared his thoughts on what they each contributed to the program.
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Rachel Smith,
Jordan McLeod and
Savannah Bauder. All three of these student athletes have played a huge part in our success over the last five years. They have all grown as rugby players and leaders on and off the field, as well as doing extremely well in the classroom. They have all represented Canada at the U23 level and have the ability to represent Canada at the senior women's level in the next three years.
Kally King has played a huge part in the development of the program. Kally was around from the start of our success and put her body on the line to stop anyone scoring whilst playing at full back, the last line of defence. Kally has worked hard to come back from a back injury to finish her last season.
Emma Derraugh has been a great student athlete who gives everything on the field. She's also been the main reason why our social media has improved over the years. She's taken a lead role in making sure our sponsors, supporters and the program get the coverage they deserve on social media.
Payton McNeill and
Kyra Bates have been great student athletes on and off the field, both have worked hard to come back from knee surgery to play out their last season. Payton has been a huge part in the success of the mini rugby program for children within the community.
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Sara Kaljuvee,
Talia Hennessy, and
Sophie Duguay all came to do a Master's for one season and we've been very lucky to have them in the program. They have been outstanding student athletes both on and off the field. They have added great leadership and been very supportive to the younger student athletes."
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The T-Birds will be heading to Lethbridge next week to compete for their fourth consecutive conference banner at the Canada West Final Four, which begins on Thursday, October 19
th. The U SPORTS National Championships are set for November 1-5 in Quebec City. Catch Saturday's game live or on demand on Canada West TV.
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