UBC Win Canadian Men’s University Championship 3rd Time in 4 Years
The UBC Thunderbirds hoisted the trophy at the end of the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) after defeating the Victoria Vikes 39-7 in the Gold Medal Game.
The Thunderbirds got on the board with an Owain Ruttan try three minutes into the game and never looked back on their way to a 32-point win in the championship game.
UBC was led by Ruttan, who finished the game with two tries, and Max Abercrombie, who finished with three converts and one penalty convert. Abercrombie finished the tournament as the second highest scorer with 31 points over three games.
Connor Sampson, Alfie Scopes, and Connor Byron also scored tries for the Thunderbirds. The scorer was undetermined on one UBC try.
Jonas Robinson scored the lone try for Victoria, converted by Chris Gamage, in the loss.
Frank Carson was named Player of the Game for the Thunderbirds and Gamage was named Player of the Game for the Vikes.
UBC opened their tournament with a 66-0 win over the RMC Paladins in the quarterfinals before defeating the host Queen’s Gaels 41-20 in the semifinals.
Victoria defeated Dalhousie Men’s Rugby 72-0 in the quarterfinals and the Guelph Gryphons 29-22 in the semifinals.
First Half
UBC Try, Owain Ruttan (Convert unsuccessful) 3 5-0
UBC Penalty Convert, Max Abercrombie 25 8-0
Second Half
UBC Try, Connor Sampson (Convert unsuccessful) 33 13-0
UBC Try, Owain Ruttan (Max Abercrombie convert) 39 20-0
VIC Try, Jonas Robinson (Chris Gamage convert) 44 20-7
UBC Try, Scorer Not Determined (Max Abercrombie convert) 50 27-7
UBC Try, Alfie Scopes (Convert unsuccessful) 58 32-7
UBC Try, Connor Byron (Max Abercrombie convert) 60 39-7
Players of the Game: UBC – Frank Carson / Victoria – Chris Gamage
Day 3 Matches (UBC v UVic game at 6:24:00)
*UBC and UVic Advance to Canadian Men’s University Championship Final: Kickoff 12:30pm PT on Sunday*
It will be the two BC universities in the final this year, guaranteeing the continuation of BC dominance in the men’s university game. UBC have won 2 of the 3 titles and UVic have won the other title in the fairly new competition initially funded by the Canadian Rugby Foundation.
UBC will go in as favourites based on recent meetings between the teams in the Coastal Cup competition.
There’s likely a Carson who will star in the match with brothers Don, Frank and Hillyard on UBC along with cousins Jack and David. On UVic is cousin Nick Carson suiting up at #8.
The match kickoff is at 12:30pm PT and is streamed on the Queen’s YouTube channel.. The stream starts at 6am PT with Dalhousie and RMC battling it out for 7th place, 8am Concordia v Calgary for 5th, 10am Guelph v Queen’s for 3rd.
UBC 41 vs. Queen’s 20
The UBC Thunderbirds will be playing in the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) game after defeating the host Queen’s Gaels 41-20 in Championship Semifinal 1 at Nixon Field on Friday.
The semifinal matchup was close through the first 25 minutes, with UBC holding a 15-13 edge early, before the Thunderbirds took over and scored 26 straight points on their way to the 21-point win.
Jack Carson opened the scoring for UBC with a penalty convert and would later add a convert after a try and a try to finish the game with 10 points. Max Abercrombie recorded three converts for the Thunderbirds while Takoda McMullin, Bryce Worden, Ryan Leskiw, Frank Carson, and Owain Ruttan all added tries for UBC in the win.
Thomas Kirkwood led the Gaels in the losing effort with one try, one convert, and two penalty converts. Santi Guadarrama added a try and a convert for Queen’s.
Don Carson was named the Player of the Game for UBC while Rienk Van Der Ploeg was named the Player of the Game for Queen’s.
With the win, the Thunderbirds will play in the Championship Game on Sunday, Nov. 28 at 3:30 p.m. against the winner of Championship Semifinal 2 between the Guelph Gryphons and Victoria Vikes. Queen’s will finish their tournament playing for the Bronze Medal on Sunday at 1 p.m. against the loser of Championship Semifinal 2.
UBC Roster
1. Connor Sampson
2. Jacob Bossi
3. Bryce Worden
4. Frank Carson
5. David Carson
6. Don Carson
7. Owain Ruttan
8. Alfie Scopes
9. Jack Carson
10. Tenniel Cowen
11. Evan Norris
12. Landon Clironomos
13. Takoda Mcmullin
14. Ryan Leskiw
15. Matt Percillier
First Half
UBC Penalty Convert, Jack Carson 3 3-0
UBC Try, Takoda McMullin (Convert unsuccessful) 4 8-0
QUE Penalty Convert, Thomas Kirkwood 13 8-3
QUE Penalty Convert, Thomas Kirkwood 18 8-6
UBC Try, Bryce Worden (Jack Carson convert) 20 15-6
QUE Try, Thomas Kirkwood (Thomas Kirkwood convert) 23 15-13
UBC Try, Ryan Leskiw (Convert unsuccessful) 27 20-13
Second Half
UBC Try, Jack Carson (Max Abercrombie convert) 33 27-13
UBC Try, Frank Carson (Max Abercrombie convert) 39 34-13
UBC Try, Owaiun Ruttan (Max Abercrombie convert) 43 41-13
QUE Try, Santi Guadarrama (Santi Guadarrama convert) 58 41-20
Players of the Game: UBC – Don Carson / Queen’s – Rienk Van Der Ploeg
Guelph 22 vs. Victoria 29
The Victoria Vikes built a 19-point second half lead and held on to beat the Guelph Gryphons 29-22 on Friday at Nixon Field to advance to the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) Final.
The semifinal matchup was close through the first 20 minutes before Victoria built up a three-score lead early in the second half. The Gryphons staged a late comeback, scoring the game’s last two tries, but it wasn’t enough as the Vikes won by seven points to advance to the championship game.
Ben Newhook, Carter White, Jonas Robinson, Zarija Djurickovic, and Ethan Hager all scored tries for Victoria, while Chris Gamage recorded two tries.
Max Goodwin, Alex Williamson, Colin Smibert, and Luke McDonald scored tries for the Gryphons, with Colin Lynch adding a convert in the losing effort.
Gabe Casey was named Player of the Game for Victoria while Jacob Ince was named Player of the Game for Guelph.
With the win, the Vikes will take on the UBC Thunderbirds in the CUMRC Final on Sunday, Nov. 28 at 3:30 p.m. The Gryphons will take on the host Queen’s Gaels in the Bronze Medal Game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
VIC Try, Ben Newhook (Convert unsuccessful) 6 5-0
GUE Try, Max Goodwin (Convert unsuccessful) 14 5-5
VIC Try, Carter White (Chris Gamage convert) 16 12-5
GUE Try, Alex Williamson (Convert unsuccessful) 21 12-10
VIC Try, Jonas Robinson (Convert unsuccessful) 26 17-10
VIC Try, Zarija Djurickovic (Chris Gamage convert) 30 24-10
Second Half
VIC Try, Ethan Hager (Convert unsuccessful) 35 29-10
GUE Try, Colin Smibert (Colin Lynch convert) 31 29-17
GUE Try, Luke McDonald (Convert unsuccessful) 56 29-22
Players of the Game: Victoria – Gabe Casey / Guelph – Jacob Ince
*UBC and UVic Advance to Semis with Big Wins on Day One: Match Recaps and Scoring Summaries*
UBC and UVic advanced to the semis with shutout wins on Day One. UBC defeating Royal Military College 66-0 and UVic defeating Dalhousie 72-0.
The match recaps and scoring summary are posted below courtesy of the tournament website.
The starting rosters weren’t provided, we managed to get the UBC starting XV, which is also appended below.
On Friday the semis will see UBC take on Queen’s and UVic take on Guelph.
UBC 66 vs. RMC 0
The UBC Thunderbirds opened the 2021 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) with a big 66-0 win over the RMC Paladins in the first quarterfinal of day at Nixon Field in Kingston, Ont.
UBC opened the scoring with a try from Connor Byron in the first minute and never looked back. The Thunderbirds were led by Max Abercrombie, who finished with a game-high 16 points off eight converts. Ethan Berry and Evan Norris scored a game-high two tries each for UBC in the win.
Other scorers for the Thunderbirds included Jacob Bourne, Relmu Wilson-Valdez, Joshua Downes, Connor O’Flaherty, and Ryan Leskiw, all with one try each.
Alfie Scopes was named Player of the Game for UBC. Greg Thomas was named Player of the Game for RMC.
With the win, UBC advanced to the CUMRC Championship Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 26 when they will take on the winner of Quarterfinal 3 later Wednesday between the host Queen’s Gaels and Concordia Stingers. RMC will compete in the CUMRC Consolation Semifinals on Friday, against the loser of Quarterfinal 3.
First Half
UBC Try, Connor Byron (Convert unsuccessful) 1 5-0
UBC Try, Ethan Berry (Max Abercrombie convert) 5 12-0
UBC Try, Ethan Berry (Max Abercrombie convert) 13 19-0
UBC Try, Evan Norris (Max Abercrombie convert) 27 26-0
Second Half
UBC Try, Jacob Bourne (Max Abercrombie convert) 33 33-0
UBC Try, Evan Norris (Max Abercrombie convert) 41 40-0
UBC Try, Relmu Wilson-Valdez (Max Abercrombie convert) 44 47-0
UBC Try, Joshua Downes (Max Abercrombie convert) 50 54-0
UBC Try, Connor OFlaherty (Max Abercrombie convert) 55 61-0
UBC Try, Ryan Leskiw (Convert unsuccessful) 61 66-0
Players of the Game: UBC – Alfie Scopes / RMC – Greg Thomas
UBC Starting XV
1. Joshua Tweed
2. Jacob Bossi
3. Bryce Worden
4. Frank Carson
5. David Carson
6. Owain Ruttan
7. Joshua Downes
8. Alfie Scopes
9. Jack Carson
10. Tenniel Cowen
11. Evan Norris
12. Ethan Berry
13. Connor Byron
14. Ryan Leskiw
15. Jacob Bourne
Guelph 34 vs. Calgary 5
The Guelph Gryphons got off to a winning start at the 2021 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship, defeating the Calgary Dinos 34-5 in Quarterfinal 2 at Nixon Field in Kingston, Ont. Wednesday.
Six different players scored tries and two different players connected on converts for the Gryphons in the 29-point win.
Jacob Ince opened the scoring for Guelph in the second minute before Max Goodwin doubled their lead in the 14th minute. Evan Raymond added a third try, converted by Aria Keshoofy, in the first half to give Guelph a 17-0 lead at half time.
The Gryphons added tries by Alex Williamson, Ben Clack, and Alex Chaffey in the second half, with Darian Hirst kicking a successful convert on Chaffey’s try.
Adham Young would score a try for Calgary late in the second half.
Adam Ford was named the Player of the Game for Guelph and Keegan Neary was named the Player of the Game for Calgary.
Guelph advanced to the Championship semifinals on Friday, Nov. 26 where they will take on the winner of Quarterfinal 4, played tonight at 7:30 p.m., between the Victoria Vikes and Dalhousie Men’s Rugby. With the loss, Calgary will compete in the Consolation semifinals against the loser of Quarterfinal 4.
First Half
GUE Try, Jacob Ince (Convert unsuccessful) 2 5-0
GUE Try, Max Goodwin (Convert unsuccessful) 14 10-0
GUE Try, Evan Raymond (Aria Keshoofy convert) 27 17-0
Second Half
GUE Try, Alex Williamson (Convert unsuccessful) 39 22-0
GUE Try, Ben Clack (Convert unsuccessful) 53 27-0
GUE Try, Alex Chaffey (Darian Hirst convert) 59 34-0
CGY Try, Adham Young (Convert unsuccessful) 62 34-5
Players of the Game: Guelph – Adam Ford / Calgary – Keegan Neary
Queens 38 vs. Concordia 22
(Kingston, Ont.) – After a close first half, the Queen’s Gaels pulled away from the Concordia Stingers after half time to win their quarterfinal matchup at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship 38-22 on Wednesday at Nixon Field.
The host Gaels and the Stingers traded leads throughout the first half, with Queen’s holding a small 14-12 lead heading into half time. The Gaels outscored the Stingers 24-10 in the second half on their way to the 16-point win.
Thomas Kirkwood and Rien Van Der Ploeg led the way for the Gaels. Kirkwood finished the game with four converts and one penalty convert, while Van Der Ploeg recorded a game-high two tries.
Neil Trainor, Stefan Zuliani, and Will Matthews also scored tries for the Gaels while Santi Guadarrama added a convert.
Stan Blazkowski, JC Vinette, Ben Laurin, and Aiden McMullan scored tries for Concordia in the loss, with Andrew Agustis adding a try.
Matthews was named the Player of the Game for Queen’s while McMullan was named the Player of the Game for Concordia.
With the win, the Gaels advanced to the Championship semifinals where they will take on the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday, Nov. 26 at 5 p.m. The Thunderbirds opened the tournament with a 66-0 win over the RMC Paladins. Tickets for the game are on sale now and can be purchased here.
Concordia will compete in the Consolation semifinals, where they will meet the Paladins on Friday at 11 a.m.
First Half
CON Try, Stan Blazkowski (Convert unsuccessful) 17 0-5
QUE Try, Rien Van Der Ploeg (Thomas Kirkwood convert) 22 7-5
CON Try, JC Vinette (Andrew Agustis convert) 26 7-12
QUE Try, Rien Van Der Ploeg (Thomas Kirkwood convert) 29 14-12
Second Half
QUE Try, Neil Trainor (Thomas Kirkwood convert) 41 21-12
CON Try, Ben Laurin (Convert unsuccessful) 45 21-17
QUE Penalty Convert, Thomas Kirkwood 48 24-17
QUE Try, Stefan Zuliani (Thomas Kirkwood convert) 54 31-17
CON Try, Aiden McMullan (Convert unsuccessful) 59 31-22
QUE Try, Will Matthews (Santi Guadarrama convert) 60 38-22
Players of the Game: Queen’s – Will Matthews / Concordia – Aidan McMullan
Victoria 72 vs. Dalhousie 0
(Kingston, Ont.) The Victoria Vikes closed out the first day of the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship with a 72-0 win over Dalhousie Men’s Rugby in Quarterfinal 4 at Nixon Field.
The Vikes opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Jonas Robinson scored his first of two tries in the game and never looked back on their way to the big win.
Victoria’s 12 tries in the game were scored by 11 different players, with Robinson leading the way with two. Carter White, Noah Bain, Gabe Casey, Denver Fatt, Graeme Norris, Marcus Lott, Ethan Hager, Chris Gamage, Ryder Heaney-Corns, and Nate Bice all scored one try each.
Ethan Smith connected on four converts while Austin Pinnell added two converts for the Vikes in the win.
Robinson was named Player of the Game for Victoria while James Clarke was named Player of the Game for Dalhousie.
With the win, the Vikes advanced to the Championship semifinals on Friday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. EST where they will take on the Guelph Gryphons, who defeated the Calgary Dinos earlier Wednesday.
Dalhousie will compete in the Consolation semifinals against Calgary on Friday at 2 p.m.
First Half
VIC Try, Jonas Robinson (Ethan Smith convert) 4 7-0
VIC Try, Carter White (Convert unsuccessful) 15 12-0
VIC Try, Jonas Robinson (Ethan Smith convert) 17 19-0
VIC Try, Noah Bain (Convert unsuccessful) 21 24-0
VIC Try, Gabe Casey (Ethan Smith convert) 26 31-0
VIC Try, Denver Fatt (Ethan Smith convert) 30 38-0
Second Half
VIC Try, Graeme Norris (Convert unsuccessful) 33 43-0
VIC Try, Marcus Lott (Convert unsuccessful) 35 48-0
VIC Try, Ethan Hager (Convert unsuccessful) 37 53-0
VIC Try, Chris Gamage (Austin Pinnell convert) 47 60-0
VIC Try, Ryder Heaney-Corns (Austin Pinnell convert) 51 67-0
VIC Try, Nate Bice (Convert unsuccessful) 57 72-0
Players of the Game: Victoria – Jonas Robinson / Dalhousie – James Clarke
*Canadian Men’s University Championship Kicks Off on Wednesday: Live Stream*
The tournament kicks off in Kingston on Wednesday at 8am PT with #1 seed UBC facing Royal Military College. The way the quarter-finals and seedings are chosen, it will likely see a UBC v Queen’s semi and a Guelph v Vikes semi. UBC won the first two tournaments and UVic won the last tournament. The tournament has been hosted in Ontario twice, Quebec once and in BC once. Next year it will be hosted by UBC.
Live Stream
Game Schedule:
8:00am PT – 1v8 UBC vs. RMC
11:00am PT – 2v7 Guelph vs. Calgary
2:00pm PT – 4v5 Queen’s vs. Concordia
4:30pm PT – 3v6 UVic vs. Dalhousie
