VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds outlasted the Victoria Vikes 31-25 in a back-and-forth second-leg battle for the Wightman Boot trophy chase on Saturday in front of a boisterous and packed Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.
The T-Birds were able to narrowly erase the five-point deficit from the game one setback and edge the Vikes by one point, 50-49 on the two-game total aggregate score to reclaim the cup and hoist it for the 10
th time in the last 11 seasons.
"It's the kind of game we want," said UBC head coach Didier Banse. "We knew that they were going to keep it close. We had some really good moments that we were able to capitalize on, but there are still some things we've got to work on."
UVic got the first points on the board in the 12
th minute from an Alex Gamage field goal. The 'Birds responded two minutes later with a left-side try from
Alastair Marshall and a conversion for a 7-3 lead. Third-year
Takoda McMullin found an opening in centre field and ran the ball in from the 22-metre line to give UBC a winning 12-3 advantage.
In the 32
nd minute, UVic threatened yards away from the try zone, but UBC was able to hold the defensive front. Four minutes later, the Vikes scored an impressive diving try into the left corner. Gamage missed the conversion, keeping UBC in the green with a tantalizing six-point lead going into the half.
UVic stole an early second-half try off the right flank to make it a one-point game before Ethan Smith added to the tally to bring UVic up 18-14.
UBC bounced back just minutes later as
Izzak Kelly powered over the line. Riding UBC's momentum,
Takoda McMullin found the try zone for a 28-18 UBC lead. The three-point margin was enough for a UBC victory but kept the Wightman Boot just out of reach.
In the 73
rd minute, the Vikes were caught offside, resulting in a
Takoda McMullin penalty kick that would be the deciding score of the game.
The Thunderbirds held the Vikes out of the try zone to defend their crucial six-point lead allowing them to re-claim the Wightman Boot on home field.
"It's huge," added Banse when asked about re-claiming the Boot. "That was the message to the guys this week. I wanted to remind them that the people before them set the standard and it's up to us to make sure that we can uphold it and keep it. The guys went to work today, and it was great. I know the guys will be super happy to get that boot back."
The Thunderbirds (3-4) next face Meraloma RC on Saturday, November 4
th at 2:30 p.m. PT, while the Vikes (4-3) play Castaway Wanderers RFC on the same day in Victoria.
