For the first time ever at the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship, the UBC Thunderbirds won't be playing for gold. The top-ranked T-Birds were upset 22-21 by the RSEQ champions ETS Piranhas.

The Thunderbirds led for the majority of the game, but the Piranhas showed their quick-strike ability in both the first few and final few minutes, doing just enough to pull off the victory.



It was ETS who opened the scoring in the 4th minute, as they pounced on a dropped ball from a T-Birds player and ran it into the try zone. That lead only lasted for about 10 minutes though, as Sol Jacques powered the ball over the line after some strong physical play from the Thunderbirds.

Tied at 7-7, Niko Andrianos was inches away from scoring after making a great move to cut past a couple defenders, but the ball was held up in the try zone. UBC did manage to take the lead just before halftime, with CUMRC Player of the Year Relmu Wilson-Valdes notching the try that made it 14-7 at the break.

The Piranhas refused to go away though, and they knocked a penalty kick through the uprights in the 35th to cut the lead to four points.



UBC responded well after that, as they quickly built up a lot of pressure near the ETS goal line. Alastair Marshall got the ball over the line, and was followed by the third successful convert of the day by Talon McMullin to make it a two-score lead.

While it looked like the 'Birds could potentially be home free, the Piranhas dug deep and caught the Thunderbirds off-guard with a sneaky play from star Brahim Mahmoudi who faked a pass and slipped into the try zone with less than 20 minutes to play.

Smelling blood in the water, the Piranhas scored again with just five minutes left to retake the lead. This time it was Stanislas Breese who dove into the corner of the try zone, putting his team on the brink of reaching the gold medal game.

Down just a single point, the T-Birds pushed hard for a winner, grinding the ball forward over the course of the final few minutes. But the ETS defensive wall stood firm, and when the blue and gold were called for a knock-on deep into extra time that was it.


SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST HALF
ETS: Try Sacha Laroche (Paul Arditi conversion) – 4'
UBC: Try Sol Jacques (Talon McMullin conversion) – 15'
UBC: Try Relmu Wilson-Valdes (Talon McMullin conversion) – 28'

SECOND HALF
ETS: Paul Arditi penalty kick – 34'
UBC: Try Alastair Marshall (Talon McMullin conversion) – 37'
ETS: Try Brahim Mahmoudi (Paul Arditi conversion) – 43'
ETS: Try Stanislas Bresse (conversion failed) – 52'