The UBC Thunderbirds took their third match in a row as they put the Trinity Western Spartans to the sword, winning 66-35 at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre. A strong first half powered the T-Birds to the win, led by Alastair Marshall who scored three tries on the day.

Thunderbirds head coach Didier Banse was happy with his team's performance, praising how they approached the match stylistically.

"I really liked how fast we were playing," said Banse. "We were moving the ball really well, so that was really exciting. It's always nice to see some things come off that you did in training in the game."



UBC opened the scoring off a big kick forward in the 10th minute. After the Spartans fumbled the reception, Marshall scooped up the ball and drove towards the try zone. He then made a sweet dish to James Biss as he was tackled, with Biss running in for the score. Talon McMullin made the convert, the first of seven successful kicks for him on the night.

The Thunderbirds kept the pressure on, stretching the lead out to 28-0 by the 24th minute. First it was Relmu Wilson-Valdes who punched in a try in a scramble following a lineout, before Jared Andrews Almack showed his speed down the left flank to score. Liam Kinghorn, who helped set up Andrews Almack, then got a try of his own to put UBC in a comfortable position.

The Spartans did get one on the board in the 30th, with Matthew Willems diving in for a try off a beautiful fake pass. The Thunderbirds answered by right away though, with Marshall scoring less than a minute after the restart.



Max McGavern then had the highlight of the day shortly thereafter, as he received the ball in the UBC half on a play that didn't appear to be going anywhere. The rookie decided to take on the entire TWU defence by himself, zigging and zagging across the field and making a series of defenders miss as he ran all the way to the try zone.

McMullin ended the first half with a penalty kick, and UBC entered the halftime break up 45-7.

The Spartans did keep fighting, and found some life with back-to-back tries from Lynden Duggan in the early stages of the second half. That cut the lead to 45-21, but it wasn't long before the 'Birds again answered right back.

This time it was rookie Jack Webster who flew down the sideline for a try in the 54th, followed in quick succession by scores from Marshall and McGavern. Biss took over the kicking duties for UBC in the final 45 minutes, and continued to nail each convert.

The Spartans did get two more tries in the final stages of the match, including another from Duggan, but could not get close to overcoming the deficit. UBC won in the end 66-35, their highest-scoring performance of the season.



With the win, the Thunderbirds have now officially qualified for the upcoming Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship. As the reigning champions the 'Birds will enter with a target on their back, but Banse believes his team has what it takes to contend once again.

"We can only take care of what our own game looks like when we get to nationals," added Banse. "As long as we're confident with how we play…then we'll be good."

UBC still has a few more matches to play before that tournament begins, including their all-important rivalry clash on the road against Victoria next Saturday, October 19th.

The T-Birds have the chance to once again win the Wightman Boot, awarded to the team that scores the most points across the two UBC-UVic matchups. The 'Birds enter with a 44-33 advantage after defeating the Vikes at home last month.