The UBC Thunderbirds put on a clinic in their Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship quarter-final, defeating the UBC Okanagan Heat by a score of 104-0.
The T-Birds were on the front foot for the entirety of the game, and spread the offence around with 10 different players recording tries. Liam James led the way with three, while Talon McMullin, Jacob Bourne and Liam Kinghorn all split the kicking duty, making at least three converts each.
It took less than five minutes before the Thunderbirds got on the board, with Emmett Allan notching what would be the first of 16 tries on the day. Jared Andrews Almack doubled the lead just a couple minutes later on an incredible solo run where he took the ball from the halfway line to the house all on his own.
Alastair Marshall made it 21-0 in the 10th minute, after a quick touch pass from McMullin gave him the space he needed to drive forward for the score. UBC showed their physical dominance by scoring twice off of scrum turnovers in quick succession, with Bourne and Andrews Almack (who was later named the player of the game for the T-Birds) the grateful recipients.
A beautiful skip pass by Marshall found James streaking down the sideline in the 21st. The rookie stiff-armed a defender before diving in for the score with a second Heat player wrapped around him. Three more tries before the half from Marshall, James and Demetri Patterson made the score 57-0 in favour of the T-Birds at the break.
The Thunderbirds kept the pressure on in the second half, with Ethan Lee powering through a thicket of defenders for the score in the 37th. Kinghorn then took over, notching back-to-back tries before setting up Benjamin Beauchamp for one to make it 83-0 with 15 minutes left in the game.
James then broke through for his third try of the game, before Beauchamp got another with just a few minutes left. Marco Mitchell pushed UBC into triple digits with a try on the final offensive play of the day for the 'Birds.
With the win, the Thunderbirds advance easily to the CUMRC semi-finals, where they will face off against the Montreal-based ETS Piranhas. That game begins at 1:30 p.m. (PT) on Friday, and will be broadcast for free on www.therugbynetwork.com.
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST HALF
UBC: Try Emmett Allan (Talon McMullin conversion) – 4'
UBC: Try Jared Andrews Almack (McMullin conversion) – 7'
UBC: Try Alastair Marshall (McMullin conversion) – 10'
UBC: Try Jacob Bourne (conversion failed) – 12'
UBC: Try Andrews Almack (McMullin conversion) – 18'
UBC: Try Liam James (conversion failed) – 21'
UBC: Try Marshall (McMullin conversion) – 23'
UBC: Try Demetri Patterson (McMullin conversion) – 27'
UBC: Try James (conversion failed) – 28'
SECOND HALF
UBC: Try Ethan Lee (conversion failed) – 37'
UBC: Try Liam Kinghorn (Bourne conversion) – 40'
UBC: Try Kinghorn (Bourne conversion) – 43'
UBC: Try Benjamin Beauchamp (Bourne conversion) – 45'
UBC: Try James (Kinghorn conversion) – 48'
UBC: Try Beauchamp (Kinghorn conversion) – 55'
UBC: Try Marco Mitchell (Kinghorn conversion) – 60'
