UBC Dominate Again at Men’s University Championships With 3-0 Record and +116 Point Differential
One point to come out of the Men’s University Championships is that UBC are in a class of their own in Canadian University Rugby. They amassed a +116 point differential over the three rounds to win the title for the 4th time in 5 years. They defeated McGill 48-5 in the 60 minute match and took their foot off the gas for the last 20 when they were ahead 41-0.
McGill were the surprise team of the tournament, making their way to the final. Trinity Western also enhanced their reputation with an opening round upset over UVic to finish in 4th place. They’ll be hosting the 2023 tournament from November 15-19. UVic would be the most disappointed, going in ranked #1 and finishing 5th.
Outside of UBC there was some parity between the 2nd to 5th place teams with McGill, Guelph, TWU and UVic having competitive results over the three rounds. The tournament organizers chose a 1st and 2nd All Star team but there were probably a few UBC players left off the list. Notably fullback Matt Percillier didn’t get named to either team but was one of the tournament standouts.
The match replays can be viewed on therugbynetwork.com and the match summaries can be read at the links below.
Sunday 4th
9:00 Consolation Final (7&8) – Laurier (12) vs. Calgary (20) – Game Recap
11:00 Consolation Final (5&6) – Victoria (52) vs. Memorial (15) – Game Recap
13:00 Bronze Medal Game – Guelph (32) vs. TWU (31) – Game Recap
15:30 Gold Medal Game – UBC (48) vs. McGill (5) – Game Recap
1st Team Tournament All-Stars
Ethan Jurgeneit – TWU
Jacob Bossi – UBC
Conor O’Flaherty – UBC
Brad Hunger – McGill
Izzak Kelly – UBC
Taine Clague – Victoria
Dylan Digirolamo – Laurier
Relmu Wilson-Valdes – UBC
Jack Carson – UBC
Monty Weatherall – McGill
Brendon Black – Guelph
Alexander Armstrong – McGill
Takoda McMullin – UBC
Jonas Robinson – Victoria
Matt Willemse – TWU
2nd Team Tournament All-Stars
Joshua Tweed – UBC
Seth Klassen – TWU
Denver Fatt – Victoria
Hillyard Carson – UBC
Ayo Ogunlade – Victoria
Matthew Murphy – Memorial
Nate Schroeder – TWU
Cam Hurst – Guelph
Tony Pomroy – Memorial
Keegan Neary – Calgary
Kobe Faust – Guelph
Jacob Ince – Guelph
Ethan Berry – UBC
Lynden Duggan – TWU
Ethan Hager – Victoria
*UBC and McGill Make it to Sunday’s Final: TWU v Guelph for Bronze*
McGill have been the surprise team of the tournament so far, making their way to the final against UBC on Sunday. McGill defeated TWU 17-11 in the semis, while UBC handled Guelph 37-17. The match summaries are linked below.
All match replays are on therugbynetwork.com
11:00 Consolation Semi Final 1 – Victoria (36) vs. Laurier (12) – Game Recap
14:00 Consolation Semi Final 2 – Memorial (29) vs. Calgary (14) – Game Recap
17:00 Championship Semi Final 1 – Guelph (17) vs. UBC (37) – Game Recap
19:30 Championship Semi Final 2 – TWU (11) vs. McGill (17) – Game Recap
Sunday 4th
9:00 Consolation Final (7&8) – Laurier vs. Calgary
11:00 Consolation Final (5&6) – Victoria vs. Memorial
13:00 Bronze Medal Game – Awards Ceremony – Guelph vs. TWU
15:30 Gold Medal Game – Awards Ceremony – UBC vs. McGill
*University Championships Round One Results & Match Reports: Trinity Western Upset UVic in Opening Round*
Day 1 of the university championships wrapped up with one major upset, #8 TWU defeated #1 ranked UVic. The original rankings weren’t that accurate and in reality the top 3 teams probably should have been seeded UBC, UVic and TWU based on form going into the tournament.
The next round will see UBC v Guelph and TWU v McGill in the Cup round. In the Consolation round it will be UVic v Laurier and Memorial v Calgary.
The match reports and scoring summaries, courtesy of the host UBC site, are posted below. The match replays can be viewed on the therugbynetwork.com
Tournament Page hosted by UBC
Tournament Program with rosters
UVIC 22 23 TWU
The eighth seeded Trinity Western Spartans upset the number one ranked Victoria Vikes in their all-BC quarterfinal matchup at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship on Wednesday at UBCs Thunderbird Stadium.
Matt Willemse was the Spartans hero, with his last second penalty convert giving the Spartans the 23-22 victory and sparking jubilant scenes from the large traveling contingent of supporters from Langley.
The Vikes opened the scoring with an 11th minute try, and it was a lead they werent to give up until the final kick of the game. Holding a narrow 15-10 advantage at the half. Victoria extended their lead to 12 with an early try in the second half, but Trinity Western never gave up and launched a stunning late comeback.
Willemse led the scoring for the Spartans with 13 points from three penalty goals and a two conversions, while Tamilore Awonusi and Scott Bowers scored Trinity Westerns two tries.
Ethan Hager led the scoring for the Vikes with an eight point haul after a try and a penalty. Ethan Smith and Shane Rikley-Krindle also scored tries for the Vikes, with Logan Martin-Feek adding two conversions.
Awonusi was named Player of the Game for the Spartans, with Hager getting the honours for the Vikes.
The victory saw the Spartans advance to the Championship semifinals where they will take on the winners of the quarterfinal between Laurier and McGill on Friday, Dec 2 at 5 p.m. Tickets for the game are on sale now and can be purchased here.
Victoria will compete in the Consolation semifinals, where they will meet the losers of the Laurier-McGill game on Friday at 11 a.m.
First Half
UVIC – Try, Ethan Hager (Convert unsuccessful) 11 5-0
UVIC – Penalty Convert, Ethan Hager 16 8-0
TWU – Try, Tamilore Awonusi (Matt Willemse convert) 21 8-7
UVIC – Try, Ethan Smith (Logan Martin-Feek convert) 27 15-7
TWU – Penalty Convert, Matt Willemse 29 15-10
Second Half
UVIC – Try, Shane Rikley-Krindle (Logan Martin-Feek convert) 39 22-10
TWU – Penalty Convert, Matt Willemse 43 22-13
TWU – Try, Scott Bowers (Matt Willemse convert) 56 22-20
TWU – Penalty Convert, Matt Willemse 60 22-23
GUELPH 28 – MEMORIAL 22
Second ranked Guelph Gryphons staged a dramatic second half comeback to stave off a quarterfinal upset in their Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship matchup with Memorial Sea-Hawks at UBCs Thunderbird Stadium on Wednesday.
The OUA champions trailed by 14 points at the half but came storming back after the break to take the lead, only to fall behind again with seconds remaining. There was still time for Kobe Faust to break Memorial hearts with a last gasp try to win it with the final play of the game.
The Gryphons took the early play to the Sea-Hawks, who struggled to get the ball out of their own half, but they opened up some space in the 19th minute ending with Mudiwa Makanza going over for the opening try, which Lucas Shortall converted.
Shortall then doubled the Sea-Hawks lead six minutes later, finishing off a great passing move for Memorials second try and then adding his second conversion of the game to give the back-to-back Atlantic University champions a 14-0 lead at the half.
Memorial knew they would be in for a Guelph onslaught to start the second half and they were, managing to hold firm defensively until the 39th minute when Guerschom Mukendi scored a converted try to get the Gryphons on the board.
Three minutes later and they were level when Kobe Faust sprang clear to go over for another try and Fausts second conversion saw the teams all tied up with 18 minutes to play.
Guelphs continued pressure saw Memorial worn down again in the 50th minute as Charles Trollip scored Guelphs third try of the afternoon, with Faust getting his third conversion, as the Gryphons took the lead for the first time.
The Newfoundland and Labrador side werent finished yet and came storming back with their third try of the afternoon, but an unsuccessful conversion attempt saw them trail by two points with six minutes remaining.
That set the scene for some stunning late drama.
The Sea-Hawks got a penalty with just seconds remaining which Shortall converted, but with the 60 minutes now up, Memorial couldnt kick the ball into touch, allowing Guelph to keep the play alive, which Black then fully capitalized on to tear up the left wing and score the winning try. Faust converted to give the Gryphons the latest of dramatic late victories.
Shortall was named Player of the Game for the Sea-Hawks, with Owen Williams getting the honours for the Gryphons.
The victory saw Guelph advance to the Championship semifinals where they will take on the winners of the UBC-Calgary quarterfinal on Friday, Dec 2 at 7.30 p.m. Tickets for the game are on sale now and can be purchased here.
Memorial will now compete in the Consolation semifinals, where they will meet the losers of that third quarterfinal on Friday at 2 p.m.
First Half
MEM – Try, Mudiwa Makanza (Lucas Shortall convert) 19′ 0-7
MEM – Try, Lucas Shortall (Lucas Shortall convert) 25′ 0-14
Second Half
GUE – Try, Guerschom Mukendi (Kobe Faust convert) 39′ 7-14
GUE – Try, Kobe Faust (Kobe Faust convert) 42′ 14-14
GUE – Try, Charles Trollip (Kobe Faust convert) 50′ 21-14
MEM – Try, Simbarashe Mandoza (convert unsuccessful) 54′ 21-19
MEM – Penalty Convert, Lucas Shortall 60′ 21-22
GUE – Try, Brenden Black (Kobe Faust convert) 60′ 28-22
UBC 53 – Calgary 0
The defending champion UBC Thunderbirds booked a semifinal matchup with the Guelph Gryphons after a dominant 53-0 victory over the Calgary Dinos in their Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship quarterfinal on Wednesday evening at Thunderbird Stadium.
UBC scored five first half tries and four in the second, as Calgary struggled to deal with a rampant Thunderbirds offense and were unable to get their own going, as the hosts dominated possession.
Relmu Wilson-Valdes scored two first half tries for the Thunderbirds while Tenniel Cowen scored three in the last seven minutes of the second half, with Ethan Berry, Jacob Bourne, Jack Carson, and Joshua Tweed also getting tries for UBC. Talon McMullin and Max Abercrombie kicked two conversion attempts each.
Wilson-Valdes was named Player of the Game for the Thunderbirds, with Colin Petrillo getting the honour for the Dinos.
The third ranked T-Birds now move onto a Championship semifinal clash with second ranked Guelph on Friday, Dec 2 at 5:00 p.m. PT. Tickets for the game are on sale now and can be purchased here.
Calgary will now compete in the Consolation semifinals, where they will meet the Memorial Sea-Hawks on Friday at 2 p.m.
First Half
UBC – Try, Relmu Wilson-Vardes (convert unsuccessful) 7′ 5-0
UBC – Try, Joshua Tweed (convert unsuccessful) 12′ 10-0
UBC – Try, Relmu Wilson-Vardes (convert unsuccessful) 17′ 15-0
UBC – Try, Ethan Berry (Talon McMullin convert) 21′ 22-0
UBC – Try, Jack Carson (Talon McMullin convert) 27′ 29-0
Second Half
UBC – Try, Jacob Bourne (convert unsuccessful) 35′ 34-0
UBC – Try, Tenniel Cowen (convert unsuccessful) 38′ 39-0
UBC – Try, Tenniel Cowen (Max Abercrombie convert) 54′ 46-0
UBC – Try, Tenniel Cowen (Max Abercrombie convert) 60′ 53-0
LAURIER 22 – MCGILL 23
The McGill Redbirds celebrated their first appearance at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship in style on Wednesday evening with a 23-22 quarterfinal win over the Laurier Golden Hawks at UBCs Thunderbird Stadium.
The entertaining end-to-end encounter saw the lead change hands five times before McGill came away with a historic victory in their 150th year of existence.
Laurier had enjoyed the better of the first half possession, but it was McGill who got on the board early through a pair of Monty Weatherall penalties.
The Golden Hawks came storming back with a pair of Wyatt Brown tries, both of which were converted by Adam McNee, but the Redbirds werent going to lie down and reduced the deficit to five at the half with another Weatherall penalty.
McGill came out strong to start the second half and Weatheralls conversion of Alexander Armstrongs try saw the RSEQ champions retake the lead in the 35th minute.
A 42nd minute McNee penalty saw the Golden Hawks retake the lead by a point but the Redbirds answered back immediately with a Dakota Stevenson try and another Weatherall conversion to give the Montreal side their second six-point lead of the game.
Laurier came back once again, with a Nicholas Harington try against a short-handed McGill side with six minutes to go bringing them within one, but a missed conversion kept the Redbirds in a narrow lead and this time it was a lead they werent to give up.
Weatherall was named the Player of the Game for McGill, with Dylan Di Girolamo earning the honour for Laurier.
Fifth-ranked McGill now move onto a Championship semifinal clash with the eighth ranked Trinity Western Spartans on Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. PT after the TWU upset the top seeded Victoria Vikes in the days first quarter-final. Tickets for the game are on sale now and can be purchased here.
Laurier will now compete in the Consolation semifinals, where they will meet Victoria on Friday at 11 a.m.
First Half
MCG – Penalty convert, Monty Weatherall 10 0-3
MCG – Penalty convert, Monty Weatherall 13 0-6
LAU – Try, Wyatt Brown (Adam McNee convert) 19 7-6
LAU – Try, Wyatt Brown (Adam McNee convert) 24 14-6
MCG – Penalty convert, Monty Weatherall 26 14-9
Second Half
MCG – Try, Alexander Armstrong (Monty Weatherall convert) 35 14-16
LAU – Penalty convert, Adam McNee 42 17-16
MCG – Try, Dakota Stevenson (Monty Weatherall convert) 43 17-23
LAU – Try, Nicholas Harington (convert unsuccessful) 54 22-23