The UBC Thunderbirds had a successful home opener with a 46-14 win over the visiting Lethbridge Pronghorns. There were plenty of cheers in the crowd at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre, as seven different T-Birds found the try zone.

The first half was fairly back-and-forth, with both teams putting up some strong defensive stands. Thunderbirds head coach Dean Murten was pleased with his team's performance in the second half, after an opening 40 minutes somewhat marred by penalties and turnovers.

"They defended well, Lethbridge, they put us under some hard contacts," said Murten. "And I thought just some space broke out, we put new players on, and they came on and made an impact."



Rachel Smith got the scoring going with a try in the 8^th minute, following a lot of goalmouth pressure applied by the T-Birds. Rookie fly half Brooklyn Roddham added to the lead just two minutes later, off a great individual run where she faked a couple passes before taking it to the house herself. UBC then took a three-score lead in the 21^st, when Kiki Idowu scored a try off a lineout.

Up 17-0, things were looking good for the Thunderbirds, but the Pronghorns began to find their footing a bit on the defensive end, bogging things down for the T-Birds. That renewed effort paid off when Lethbridge fullback Zina Umeh picked off a UBC pass and ran it nearly the entire length of the field for a try in the 36^th minute, getting her team on the board.  



The Thunderbirds went to the break up just ten, but quickly grabbed the momentum back early in the second half with a pair of tries. First it was Tia Jordo diving in from the outside in the 49^th, before Anya Prokopich powered her way through a goal line pileup just five minutes later for the score.

A Sara Tehrani try in the 65^th pushed the UBC lead out to 34-7, before the Pronghorns got one back a few minutes later. The T-Birds continued to push through to the end of the match, with Idowu scoring her second try of the day in the 73^rd and Delaney Woods intercepting a Lethbridge pass and running the distance untouched in the final minute.



The match was a chance for some of the younger T-Birds to get some action, with a number of regulars out of the lineup. After the final whistle coach Murten praised the play of his rookies, including Roddham and Mya Koleba, for stepping up when given the opportunity.

"We've got girls who are with Canada, we got girls injured, so the roster was short today," added Murten. "But to get some of these first years in at this level is good experience in the long run for them, so it's all good."
 

?? WRUG | @UBCWRugby's Delaney Woods credits a half-time speech from coach Dean Murten and impressive play from his first-years teammates for today's bounce-back 46-14 victory over Lethbridge.#GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/E6ggfSt2ZC

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) September 15, 2024

With the win UBC improves to 1-1 on the season, with a bonus point added to their standing for scoring four or more tries. Next up for the T-Birds is a home clash against Alberta on Sunday, September 22^nd. The game begins at 1:00 p.m. (PT) at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.

SCORING SUMMARY
             1     2     F
UBC     17   29   46
LET       7     7    14

8' - UBC Try - #8 Rachel Smith (#10 Brooklyn Roddham convert) 7-0 UBC
10' - UBC Try - #10 Roddham (#10 Roddham convert missed) 12-0 UBC
21' - UBC Try - #1 Kiki Idowu (#10 Roddham convert missed) 17-0 UBC
36' – LET Try - #15 Zina Umeh (#14 Tory Clements convert) 17-7 UBC
HALF
49' - UBC Try - #13 Tia Jordo (#10 Roddham convert missed) 22-7 UBC
54' - UBC Try - #19 Anya Prokopich (#10 Roddham convert) 29-7 UBC
65' - UBC Try - #9 Sara Tehrani (#10 Roddham convert missed) 34-7 UBC
70' - LET Try - #13 Rebecca Powell (#14 Clements convert) 34-14 UBC
73' - UBC Try - #1 Idowu (#10 Roddham convert missed) 39-14 UBC
80' - UBC Try - #12 Delaney Woods (#10 Roddham convert) 46-14 UBC