LANGLEY, B.C. – In a rematch of their season opener, the UBC Thunderbirds (4-1) hit the road to go toe-to-toe with the Trinity Western Spartans (1-3) and emerged with a 42-21 victory on Friday night.

Fifth-year forward Joe McNulty bookended the scoring with the first and last try of the game for UBC, while second-year back row Cody Nhanala highlighted a high-scoring first half with a pair of tallies of his own. Despite a late surge from the Spartans, the T-Birds added enough in the final 40 minutes to close out the team's fourth win in five games



The blue and gold got on the board early as Alex Muir came up with the ball following a lineout and rumbled his way through traffic before being brought down just in front of the try line. Joe McNulty then came from behind and scooped up the ball before diving in for the first score of the game.

The T-Birds continued to press over the next five minutes, slowly making their way up their opponent's half before Nhanala hauled in a pass and dove, barely breaking the line for the try.

No more than ten minutes later, and after a series of tackles and passes near the goal line, UBC's Viktor Wozniak found enough space on the left side and muscled his way through for another T-Birds tally.

As halftime approached, Nhanala looked to add on. After breaking through a pair of tackles on the left side, this time, he dove deep into the zone for his second try of the day while handing his squad a 28-0 advantage heading into the break.



Opening the second half, the Spartans were clearly eager to respond. The home side quickly grabbed a hold of possession and maintained a press offensively until the 47th minute. Moving their way upfield, and after a penalty in close, the Spartans reset and were rewarded by a Jacob Goroza try to get on the board.

The 'Birds responded just five minutes later, this time from Max McGavern, who found plenty of room on the right side to dive in five points.

The Spartans, however, were not deterred. As the second half neared the midway point, a moving maul inched the ball to within one yard of the goal, only for team captain Caleb Graham to finish the job by launching himself over the line for the score.

From there, the Spartans continued to battle, but the mountain proved too steep to climb. Both sides managed to tack on another try each, ending the game with a final score of 42-21 in favour of the 'Birds.

The UBC Thunderbirds will now head to Surrey for their next matchup, where they will take on Bayside RFC in Premier League action. Kickoff is set for Saturday, October 17 at 2:30 p.m.