UBC Defend Title on Last Minute Try: UBC 15 – UVic 13
UBC repeat as U SPORTS champions with a last minute win over UVic. UVic went up 3-0 in the first quarter on a penalty kick, UBC scored the first try set up by a strong run by prop Kiki Idowu and finished off by fullback Olivia Saraburu, 7-3 for UBC. UBC added a penalty in the second half to go up 10-3. UVic hit back with a halfback combination try, #9 Justine Blatt Janmaat with the line break and offload to #10 Ella O’Regan, 10-8 for UBC with 20 minutes left. UVic wing Eden Kilgour put UVic ahead with a try outside with 5 minutes left, 13-10 for UVic. UBC scored at the whistle, a try outside by wing Adia Pye, 15-13 UBC to end the match
from U SPORTS
Host UBC stuns top-seeded Vikes to capture second straight national trophy
In a storybook finish for the hosts, the UBC Thunderbirds sank their archrivals from Victoria with a last-second try to capture the 2025 CGIS U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship, presented by The Rec Room Granville, as they scored a 15-13 victory over the Vikes on Sunday at Thunderbird Stadium.
The win gives the Thunderbirds (7-3, 4-1 Canada West) the prestigious Monilex Trophy for the second time in a row, and the second time ever. Victoria (9-1, 5-0 Canada West), for its part, matches its best-ever finish at the national tournament.
Trailing by two points as the clock ticked toward the end of the regulation 70 minutes, the Thunderbirds mounted one final, desperate attack off a nice turnover in the 69th minute. The ball found its way to winger Adia Pye, who bee-lined down the left sideline towards the corner flag and touched down the game-winning try as time expired, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
The victory was a monumental upset, as the top-seeded Vikes had defeated UBC in all three of their previous meetings this season, entered the contest with a perfect 9-0 record and were looking to avenge last year’s defeat in the national title game.
UBC’s triumph was spearheaded by tournament MVP Charity Williams, whose relentless defensive pressure and leadership were instrumental throughout the championship. Players of the game were UBC’s Kiki Idowu and Victoria’s Emily Findlay.
The game was a classic, defensive battle from the start. Victoria’s Olivia Newsome opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the seventh minute for an early 3-0 lead. UBC responded just before halftime, as Olivia Sarabura powered over for a try, converted by Brooke Roddham, to give the Thunderbirds a 7-3 lead at the break.
UBC extended their lead early in the second half with a Roddham penalty goal, making it 10-3. The Vikes, however, stormed back. Ella O’Regan scored two second half tries, the second in the 65th minute, to put Victoria ahead 13-10 and set the stage for the dramatic finale.
The UBC defense held firm in the final minutes, including a key period where they weathered a Victoria attack, to get the ball back and launch the series of phases that led to Pye’s championship-winning score.
The next U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship is set for Nov. 4-8, 2026, in Guelph, Ont.
NIKE TEAM PLAYERS OF THE GAME
UBC: Kiki Idowu
VICTORIA: Emily Findlay
TOURNAMENT ALL-STARS:
Prop: Kiki Idowu, UBC
Hooker: Sierra Gillis, Victoria
Prop: Tattyannah Jackson, Queen’s
Lock: Teya Ashworth, UBC
Lock: Sandrine Faucher, Laval
Flanker: Emily Findlay, Victoria
Flanker: Lizzie Gibson, Queen’s
No. 8: Madison Jumeau, Queen’s
Scrum Half: Justine Blatt-Janmaat, Victoria
Fly Half: Brooklyn Roddham, UBC
Left Wing: Tia Jordo, UBC
Inside Centre: Tausani Levale, Guelph
Outside Centre: Charity Williams, UBC
Right Wing: Olivia Newsome, Victoria
Full Back: Carissa Norsten, Victoria
TOURNAMENT MVP: Charity Williams, UBC
R.W. PUGH FAIR PLAY AWARD: Ottawa Gee-Gees
GAME SUMMARY
FIRST HALF:
7’ VIC Penalty goal Olivia Newsome 0-3
20’ UBC Try Olivia Sarabura (Brooke Roddham conversion) 7-3
Yellow Card: Olivia Newsome VIC (28’)
SECOND HALF:
40’ UBC Penalty goal Brooke Roddham 10-3
48’ VIC Try Ella O’Regan (conversion failed) 10-8
65’ VIC Try Ella O’Regan (conversion failed) 10-13
70’ UBC Try Adia Pye (conversion failed) 15-13
UVic Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds Advance to Final
UVic and UBC advanced to the final setting up a rematch of last year’s championship, the BC universities guaranteeing themselves a #1 and #2 finish for the second year in a row.
UVic 42 – Guelph 0
Olivia Newsome put up 3 penalty kicks in the first half to account for 9 points. Eden Kilgour scored UVic’s first try out wide. Maggie MacKinnon scored UVic’s second try slicing through the Guelph backline. Vanessa Chiappetta scored UVic’s 3rd try, again slicing through the centres. The 3 tries and 3 penalty kicks gave UVic a 28-0 half time lead.
UVic backline sub Kyla Warren scored first in the second half, 35-0. Reserve forward Emma Grootendorst scored with about 8 minutes left in the match, 42-0, and that was the final score.
UBC 20 – Queen’s 14
UBC went ahead 3-0 on a penalty kick, they scored their first try 17 minutes in on a backline run by fullback Sarabura, 10-0. Queen’s jumped on an errant UBC pass with their wing scoring the try against the run of play, 10-7. UBC kicked a penalty at the half time whistle, 13-7 going into the break.
Charity Williams opened the scoring for UBC in the second half, 20-7. Queen’s hit back with strong forward work, Lizzie Gibson the openside flanker carrying the ball often and eventually getting over the line, 20-14. Queen’s were knocking on the door in the dying minutes of the game with the ball at the UBC goal line but a knock on ended their hopes, final 20-14 for UBC.
Vikes Win Quarter-Final 41-8 Over Ottawa; UBC Take Down Laval 32-10
The semi-finals are set for Friday, Vikes taking on Guelph and UBC facing Queen’s. The Vikes got by Ottawa 41-8 in their quarter-final while UBC defeated Laval 32-10. Queen’s obliterated Acadia 90-10 in their quarter-final and Guelph took care of StFX 45-21 in their quarter-final.
UVic 41 – Ottawa 8
The Vikes were slow to get going and Ottawa actually led 8-7 20 minutes into the match. The UVic scrum was under pressure and the team were picking up a lot of penalty calls. Soleil Brooks put the Vikes ahead at the 25 minute mark, but it was a narrow 14-8 lead at the half. Larah Wright #8 was next to score, 19-8. A few minutes later Wright scored her double as the Ottawa defence was starting to show more gaps, 26-8, with 10 minutes gone in the second half. UVic added a penalty goal, 29-8. The next try was by #20, replacement forward Piper Walsh, 36-8 with 15 minutes left in the game. The final try was on a chip kick into the goal area, touched down by replacement back, #25 ShonDreya Smardon.
UBC 32 – Laval 10
UBC were up early 3-0 on a penalty kick but it took them 24 minutes to break the Laval line for their first try by winger Tia Jordo, 8-0. Jordo added a second try a few minutes later, 13-0. Laval added a penalty to close the gap, 13-3. That would be the half time score, 13-3. Piper Logan opened the scoring in the second half, 20-3. Laval added a try through the forwards pick and go, 20-10 with 20 minutes left in the match. Charity Williams put the game out of reach with 10 minutes left on a solo run through the Laval defence, 27-10. Reserve back Jamie Dickson scored the final try of the match to seal the 32-10 win.
University Championship Schedule Announced – Kick Off on Wednesday with Quarter-Finals
UVic start tournament ranked #1 which gives them a much better draw than UBC who were ranked #6 after two close losses to UVic. UBC will have to battle through Laval and Queen’s, the #3 and #2 to reach the final. UVic will get #8 Ottawa in the quarter-finals and, if they win, StFX #4 or Guelph #5.
Queen’s and Laval both dominated in their regional playoffs so UBC will have to be on their top game to make it to the finals at home and hope to repeat as national champions. All games are to be streamed on the CBC digital platforms according to the U SPORTS media release.
Regional Playoff Scores
Queen’s 61 – Guelph 21
StFX 33 – Acadia 31
Laval 41 – Ottawa 19
from U SPORTS
U SPORTS announced the seedings and bracket for the 2025 CGIS U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship, presented by The Rec Room Granville, to be hosted by UBC in Vancouver. The tournament gets underway on Wednesday, Oct. 29, and concludes the following Sunday, Nov. 2.
The eight participating teams, listed in seeding order, are as follows:
#1, Victoria Vikes, CW finalists (5-0 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)
#2, Queen’s Gaels, OUA finalists (6-0, 2-0)
#3, Laval Rouge et Or, RSEQ champions (6-0, 2-0)
#4, STFX X-Women, AUS champions (5-0-1, 1-0)
#5, Guelph Gryphons, OUA finalists (5-1, 1-1)
#6, UBC Thunderbirds, Hosts (3-2, 1-1)
#7, Acadia Axewomen, AUS finalists (4-2, 1-1)
#8, Ottawa Gee-Gees, RSEQ finalists (5-1, 1-1)
Conference champions are seeded in positions one through four, based on their conference’s relative finish at last year’s championship. The four remaining teams are then slotted to avoid intra-conference matchups until the final round.
Seven of the eight teams are return participants from the 2024 event in Charlottetown. The only new entrant is STFX, who return after a one-year absence.
The four quarterfinals will be played on Wednesday at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium. Action starts at 11 a.m. (all times Pacific) with Victoria taking on Ottawa, followed by STFX facing Guelph at 1:30 p.m. and Queen’s facing Acadia at 4 p.m. The day will close with RSEQ champions Laval taking on the tournament hosts, UBC at 6:30 p.m.
Game Day 2 is set for Friday, October 31, and will see consolation games at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with the semifinals set to follow at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The final day will be Sunday, November 2 and will start with the fifth-place game at 11 a.m., followed by the bronze-medal game at 1:30 p.m. and the championship at 4 p.m.
Tickets for the event are currently on sale at www.usportstickets.ca.
All 11 games of the championship will be streamed on CBC digital platforms in English, and on Radio-Canada digital platforms and usports.ca in French.