Langley, B.C. – The University of Victoria men's rugby team finished with a silver medal at the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championships with a 41-7 loss to the University of British Columbia in the national final, Nov. 19 at Willoughby Community Park.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UBC struck first, putting a try and convert on the board in the sixth minute to take a 7-0 lead. Adding another try and convert in the 10th minute and try in the 16th minute, the Thunderbirds went ahead 19-0.
- Adding one more try in the 24th minute, UBC took a 24-0 lead into the halftime break.
- Opening the second-half scoring, UBC added seven points for a 31-0 lead. Scoring again in the 46th and 55th minutes, the Thunderbirds extended their lead to 41-0 with two tries.
- Getting their lone points of the game in the 58th minute, Brendan Kim powered through Thunderbird defenders over the line to touch the ball down for UVic. A successful convert by Alex Gamage brought the final score to 41-7 in favour of UBC.
WORTH NOTING
- The silver medal finish is the second for the Vikes in three years, having also taken silver in 2021.
- Victoria and UBC finished the tournament in matching order to their seeding, with the Thunderbirds the top seed and the Vikes the two seed for the tournament.
- Kim scored his first try of the tournament in the final.
- The Vikes sit at 7-4 on the year after going 2-1 at the national tournament.
TOURNAMENT ALL-STARS
First Team:
LHP: Owen Kokan – VIC
Left Wing: Morgan Di Nardo – VIC
Second Team:
Hook: Jordy Auger - VIC
Lock (4): Merlin M'Cloud - VIC
UP NEXT
The Vikes round out their fall 2023 slate at Westshore RFC, Nov. 25 at 2:30 p.m.
