VANCOUVER – The three-time defending Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds kick off their regular season on the road visiting the rival University of Victoria Vikes Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. start at Wallace Field in Victoria.
 
The meeting is a rematch of last year's championship game which saw the T-Birds claim their third consecutive title after a 24-12 win over the Vikes last October in Edmonton. Adding another championship would elevate the T-Birds' status as a dynasty and would mark the first four-peat since Lethbridge won six consecutive crowns from 2006-2011. UBC is well aware of the external attention on their decorated program as they topped the 2023 pre-season coaches' poll with four first-place votes and those lofty expectations are certainly felt internally as well.


 
"We as a group are very excited to how this group can perform," said the three-time reigning Canada West Coach of the Year Dean Murten. "We have some very good additions to the team that will hopefully bring a few missing pieces that we have not had over the last couple of years. Having said that we must work hard to improve in certain areas of the game that we have not been good enough at over the last few years. We also all need to be on the same page, no individual will win the Championship for us. It's very important for us to get off to a good start on Saturday as defending the championships is high on the priority list, however we will be taking one game at a time."
 
All told the T-Birds and Vikes met on four separate occasions last season including regular season and playoff action, the 'Birds took the first meeting 45-24 in early September before a very entertaining rematch a month and a half later which saw the rivals deadlocked in a 31-31 tie at the final whistle. UBC was then able to get the better of the Vikes in the conference title game while edging UVic again 20-15 in the consolation final of the U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship hosted in Victoria in early November.


 
"UVIC are a very good team," added Murten when asked what he expected from this year's version of the Vikes. "They have power in the tight five, as well as many outstanding backs that have lots of skill and speed, we can't allow them any space, if they get space, they are very dangerous. They always have great supporters that adds to the excitement and passion the UVIC team bring to a local derby game."
 
Following Saturday's matchup, the T-Birds who've added eight impressive recruits to this year's squad return to the Gerald McGavin Rugby Centre for their home opener Thursday September, 14^th with a 5:30 p.m. kickoff.