It was a back-and-forth affair in front of an energetic crowd at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre, as the UBC Thunderbirds won the first leg of the Wightman Boot series 44-33 over the Victoria Vikes.
Sol Jacques was the offensive star for the Thunderbirds, tallying three of his team's seven tries.
The T-Birds were down at the half, but rallied after the break to retake the lead and didn't look back from there. UBC head coach Didier Banse was pleased with his team's response after being down by as many as nine points to the visiting Vikes.
"Our mistakes and our discipline really let us down in the first half," said Banse. "Even though that hurt us…I told the guys all we have to do really is make sure we're able to be comfortable with some of this adversity."
Early on the T-Birds were in control, opening the scoring off a well-worked play from a lineout in the 7
th minute. Jacques was the one who punched it home, and although the conversion was missed UBC found paydirt again in the 15
th, when
Emmett Allan snuck through the defense for the try.
Up 12-0, things were looking good for the home team, but the Vikes found their footing as the half wore on and scored two tries in just three minutes to take a 14-12 lead in the 27
th. The high-scoring half continued, as UBC retook the lead with another try from Sol in the 35
th, only for the Vikes to take it right back a few minutes later with their third try of the game.
With the score 21-19 for UVic, Vikes back Angus Boyd-Porter scored a try on the final play of the first half and kicked the conversion. His side went into the break up 28-19, their largest lead of the day.
However, the T-Birds came out firing in the second half, and they retook the lead within fifteen minutes. First, Sol scored his third try off another designed lineout play in the 48
th minute, before
James Biss broke free up the middle with an incredible solo run in the 54
th, beating a series of defenders. He then passed wide to
Stephen Webb who immediately dished it to
Joe McNulty, and the big man roared into the try zone to make it 31-28 for the Thunderbirds.
UBC continued to pour it on from there, as they outscored the Vikes 25-5 in the second half.
Payton Teneycke got himself on the board with a try in the 62
nd, before
Relmu Wilson-Valdes did the same in the 70
th. A late penalty kick from Biss was the cherry on top as the T-Birds closed out a 44-33 victory.
While the Thunderbirds were able to celebrate the victory in their home opener, the Wightman Boot is not yet secure. These two teams will battle again in Victoria on October 19
th, with the Boot going to the team that has the higher aggregate score across the two legs. Coach Banse and his team expect an equally hard-fought match when they face off with their rivals once again.
"Both sides are very aware of the history of the Wightman Boot," added Banse. "Both teams always get up for it, so I'm going to be expecting a lot more of the same."
The next match for UBC is on Saturday, September 21
st, against Pacific Pride over on Vancouver Island. After that, they return home to face Capilano RFC on Saturday, September 28
th, in BC Premier League action.
You can catch that game against Capilano (as with every T-Birds home game) on The Rugby Network, the exclusive broadcast partner of UBC Men's Rugby. The action begins at 2:30 p.m. (PT) at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.
