VANCOUVER – For the 12th time in the last 13 seasons, the UBC Thunderbirds have claimed the Wightman Boot!
Holding the advantage heading into the second leg of the series, the T-Birds jumped out in front early and never relinquished the lead, although the Vikes put up a serious fight as the match went along.
"I'm extremely proud," said Thunderbirds' head coach
Didier Banse about his team. "We had to really battle for that – UVic certainly brought their A-game…there's always things to work on but it was a fantastic achievement for our guys."
UBC very close to scoring in the third minute following a scrum that pushed to what felt like inches away from the UVic goal line. After working the ball out to the left flank, a Vikes defender dove in to knock away the ball and prevent a try.
That only lasted for the moment, however, as the 'Birds kept turning the screws. After a couple more minutes of relentless pressure,
Cody Nhanala barged his way into the try zone for the opening score of the match.
UBC continued to keep the Vikes hemmed in their own half of the field, and used their powerful front line on the second try of the game. The T-Birds executed a perfect lineout play where
Liam Kinghorn caught the ball, handed it off to
Callum Arnesen as he came down, and the mass of Thunderbirds immediately drove it over the line as a group.
The Vikes then began to get their feet under them, and scored on their first sustained foray forward in the 20th minute following some strong team play. Phoenix Moller capped it off with a dive into the try zone.
The T-Birds hit back almost immediately, however, as
Joe McNulty caught the defence sleeping on a ruck as he quickly picked up the ball and ran right through the middle for the try. Nhanala then benefitted from a very similar play as he grew the lead further in the 29
th minute.
The scoring pace continued unabated, with Nicolas Willey scoring UVic's second try of the day in the 33rd minute, making it five tries in just over 15 minutes between the two sides. Willey then scored again in the final minute of the opening half, diving over a pile of players to help cut the lead down further.
Coming out of the halftime break it was the Vikes who came out with the momentum. When Ryder Heaney-Corns powered his way into the try zone, all of a sudden the score was 28-26, a 19-0 UVic run.
From there, the scoring pace finally slowed down a little as the two teams grinded for each yard. McMullin nearly set up
Alastair Marshall for a score with a perfectly placed kick into the try zone, but UVic's Lockhart MacGregor managed to kick the ball away at the last second.
Marshall did then find his way into the try zone on the next possession, receiving a sweet pass from
James Biss and diving in to make it a two-score lead once again.
Each team had one more try in them in the final 20 minutes, as the T-Birds managed to see out the match with a 42-33 victory, taking the Wightman Boot with an overall 85-59 scoreline.
The T-Birds have also clinched victory in the Coastal Cup with the win. The final match of that series will see UBC visit Langley to take on Trinity Western next Saturday, October 11th.
After that, the Thunderbirds return to the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre for three straight at home in Premier League play.
SCORING SUMMARY
1 2 F
UBC 28 14 42
VIC 19 14 33
6' – UBC try #8
Cody Nhanala (#12
Talon McMullin convert) 7-0 UBC
16' – UBC try #7
Callum Arnesen (#12 McMullin convert) 14-0 UBC
20' – VIC try #1 Phoenix Moller (#15 Michael Oughtred convert) 14-7 UBC
22' – UBC try #5
Joe McNulty (#12 McMullin convert) 21-7 UBC
29' – UBC try #8 Nhanala (#12 McMullin convert) 28-7 UBC
33' – VIC try #3 Nicolas Willey (#15 Oughtred convert) 28-14 UBC
40' – VIC try #3 Willey (#15 Oughtred convert missed) 28-19 UBC
HALF
45' – VIC try #8 Ryder Heaney-Corns (#15 Oughtred convert) 28-26 UBC
59' – UBC try #14
Alastair Marshall (#12 McMullin convert) 35-26 UBC
67' – VIC try #11 Alex Gamage (#15 Oughtred convert) 35-33 UBC
71' – UBC try #9
Stephen Webb (#12 McMullin convert) 42-33 UBC
