Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship 2025

Guelph Becomes First Ontario University to Win Men’s National Title: UBC Place 3rd

The University of Guelph became the first Ontario university to claim the men’s national university title when they defeated hosts ETS 18-13 on Sunday. In the Bronze medal match it was UBC over UVic 27-12. UBC had won 5 of the first 6 championships with UVic winning the other, ETS broke the BC dominance last year and Guelph have put their name on the cup this year.

Guelph placed 5 players on the 1st team all-star, ETS placed 6 players, UBC and UVic both got 2 selections. On the 2nd team all-starts Guelph again placed 5 players, ETS 4, UBC 2, UVic 1, UBCO 1, Queen’s 1, Dalhousie 1.

All-Star Selections

History

Year	Host	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2025	ETS	Guelph	ETS	UBC
2024	University of Ottawa	ETS	Queen’s	UBC
2023	Trinity Western	UBC	UVic	Guelph
2022	University of British Columbia	UBC	McGill	Guelph
2021	Queen’s University	UBC	UVic	Queen’s
2020	Not held (COVID-19)
2019	Concordia University	UVic	UBC	Queen’s
2018	University of Victoria	UBC	Queen’s	Uvic
2017	University of Guelph	UBC	Uvic	McMaster

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BC Universities Drop the Ball in Semi-Finals

For the second year in a row there won’t be a BC university in the final. UBC were defeated by Guelph 13-7 and UVic by hosts ETS 23-21. It will be Guelph v ETS in the final and UBC v UVic for 3rd. UBC Okanagan will face Dalhousie for 7th/8th place. The match write ups from UBC and UVic are below.

from UBC

MONTREAL – In a physical, low-scoring affair, the Thunderbirds suffered their first defeat of the 2025-26 campaign in the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship semifinals.

The victors were the Guelph Gryphons, who fell behind early but tied things up by the end of the first half and nudged ahead late in the second.

To begin the match, the T-Birds were certainly in control. They didn’t Guelph touch the ball past the halfway line at all in the opening period of play.

Their repeated drives forward paid off in the 12th minute, as they turned a lineout deep into Gryphons territory into a UBC maul pushing the ball towards the goal line. Emmett Allan was the try scorer in the end, with teammate Callum Arnesen helping pull him across the final couple yards. Liam James’ kick sailed through the uprights, putting his team up 7-0 early.

Both teams had the opportunity to put points on the board on following possessions, but some key turnovers on both sides left the score the same until the very end of the half.

Trouble began for the T-Birds when the Gryphons got the ball deep into UBC territory. Then, Ben Martin was shown a yellow card to give Guelph the advantage. They made full use of it, as Liam Bowman played a perfectly placed low kick through the Thunderbirds’ defence, which Kobe Faust ran onto and dove on in the try zone.

The two teams thus entered the break tied up at 7-7, with all to play for in the second half.

Still playing a man down to begin the second period, the T-Birds worked hard to try and ensure ensure that there was no more scoring from their opponents. Demetri Patterson nearly sprang loose down the left sideline, but was dragged back by a Gryphons defender before he could truly break free.

As the clock continued to tick by with no scoring on either side, each team knew that every possible point was becoming more and more crucial. The Gryphons went for a very long penalty kick attempt with 10 minutes to go, but it fell short.

Guelph’s kicking came through in the end, however, as they scored six points on a pair of kicks in the final few minutes to push themselves ahead. The Thunderbirds were unable to make a charge forward to grab the win at the death, and the Gryphons booked their place in the championship match for the first time ever.

UBC will now play for bronze on Sunday afternoon. Their opponent will be either familiar foes UVic, or tournament hosts ETS.

from UVic

Montreal, QC – The University of Victoria men’s rugby team were defeated 23-21 by the Ecole de Technologie Superieure in the semi-finals of the Canada University Men’s Rugby Championships on Nov. 14.

Piranhas started the scoring.

In the 11th minute., ETS broke the scoreless tie as they corralled a kick in the try zone to take an early 7-0 lead over the Vikes. ETS added on to their lead as they broke a big run all the way to the try zone. In the 16th minute, the Piranhas extended their lead to 12-0. In the 25th minute, the Piranhas added yet another try to push their lead out to 17-0.

The Vikes took back momentum as the game headed to halftime. In extra time of the first half, Reece Thompson broke through the ETS defenders to score the Vikes’ first try of the game. Michael Oughtred added the conversion to cut the ETS’s lead to 17-7 as the game headed for halftime.

The Vikes came out determined in the second half. The Vikes wasted no time as they came out firing in the second half. The Vikes cut into the Piranhas’ lead further as they scored their second try of the game. With another conversion from Oughtred, ETS’ lead was 17-14 with the Vikes within striking distance.

Piranhas awarded a penalty goal. In the 10th minute, ETS was awarded a penalty goal attempt. The ETS kicker executed and pushed the lead out to 20-14.

Dramatically, the Vikes remained relentless to regain the lead. The Vikes pushed the ball down to the brink of the Piranhas’ try line. Out of a scrum, Adam Doane grabbed the ball and used his long reach to extend his way over the try line. An ever-important conversion was executed perfectly, and the Vikes grabbed their first lead of the game.

ETS utilized a drop goal to score the go-ahead points. With the Piranhas back on the attack in the 29th minute of the second half, ETS executed a perfect drop goal to score a key three points. This goal pushed the Piranhas back out in front and sealed the game at 23-21.

Notables:
Jack Marshall was awarded Player of the Game honours for his strong play in the loss.

The Vikes will play their provincial rivals, the University of British Columbia, for the bronze medal on Nov. 16 at 12:00 p.m. PT.

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UVic and UBC Advance to Semi-Finals on Friday

UVic defeated Queen’s in their quarter-final 36-7 and UBC defeated Montreal 40-0 in their quarter-final. Guelph also won their quarter-final over UBC Okanagan 59-0.  ETS defeated Dalhousie 21-3 in their quarter-final. The semi-finals on Friday are now set, UBC v Guelph and UVic v ETS.

Match reports for the UVic and UBC matches are posted below.

UVic Roster

Match Report from UVic Vikes

Montreal, QC – The University of Victoria men’s rugby team defeated Queen’s University 36-7 in the quarterfinals of the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championships on Nov. 12.

Victoria struck first

• Early in the first half, the Vikes got the scoring started with the opening try of the Championships. The Vikes grabbed the first lead, 5-0, early in the semifinal match.

The Gaels counterattack

• In the 30^th minute, the Gaels broke into the clear and rushed down to the Vikes ‘ meter line.  The Vikes fought the Gaels’ attack, but they found their way into the try zone to take a 7-5 lead.

The Vikes came out strong in the second half.

• Early in the first half, Victoria executed a maul to perfection with Brendan Kim carrying the ball over the try line to push the Vikes back in front. Michael Oughtred completed the conversion to extend the Vikes’ lead to 12-7.

The Vikes added on more.

• The Vikes continued to push as they had the ball on the brink of the Gaels’ try zone. Adam Doane finished off the long offensive drive with his first try of the game. Michael Oughtred converted his second straight conversion for a 19-7 Vikes’ lead.
• Victoria stayed on the attack. In the 22^nd minute, Reece Thompson executed a perfect fake pass to open a running lane. He cruised to the try zone for his first try of the tournament. Oughtred added another kick to extend the lead to 26-7.

Vikes added a fifth try and a penalty goal.

• The offence was relentless, breaking off yet another long run as Jordy Auger burst into the try zone. Auger’s score in the 24^th minute, with a successful conversion, added seven to the Vikes’ score.
• In the 60^th minute with time set to expire, Victoria added a penalty goal and secured the Vikes’ 36-7 win.

Notables:

• Adam Doane earned player of the game honours for his strong offensive performance.

The Vikes will return to the field to play in the Championship Semifinal, Nov. 14, with a game time and opponent yet to be announced.

UBC Roster

Match Report from UBC

MONTREAL – The T-Birds earned an emphatic opening round win at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship, defeating the Montreal Carabins 40-0 on a chilly day at the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex.

Emmett Allan and Stephen Webb combined to score 31 of those 40 UBC points, with the former scoring three tries and the latter notching two tries and three successful converts. T-Birds captain Relmu Wilson-Valdes was named the Player of the Match for the blue and gold.

UBC took it to Montreal early, scoring three tries in the opening 20 minutes. Aidan Sutherland got the party started, before Webb scored both of his tries while also taking the converts.

The Carabins did have some strong offensive possession in the UBC end as halftime neared, but the T-Birds’ defence held strong with some nice tackling and cutting off of passing angles.

The ‘Birds then put the match out of reach in the second half, with Allan breaking through for his first try less than five minutes in following some great work by Cody Nhanala and Webb to push to the ball forward.

The Carabins nearly got themselves on the board soon after, as they tried to capitalize on a T-Birds turnover by kicking the ball down the sideline with a Montreal winger attempting to run onto it and pick it up for a try. But the Thunderbirds recovered beautifully, with Alastair Marshall tracking back to knock the ball away from the onrushing attacker to keep the shutout going.

Allan scored his second try of the half in the 49th minute, as part of another period of sustained pressure by the T-Birds. The Courtenay, B.C. native scored once again in the final few minutes to cap his great individual – and a great team – performance. Liam James made the convert on both of the last two tries.

UBC will be taking on another team with some momentum under their wings in the semifinal round, as they face the Guelph Gryphons, who beat UBC Okanagan 59-0 in their quarterfinal.

The rematch of last year’s bronze medal game will be on Friday, with a spot in the national championship final on the line.

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Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) Kicks Off on Wednesday November 12th: Rosters, Schedules, Brackets, Streaming Link

[Note the CUMRC have changed the kickoff times.]

The 2025 CUMRC kicks off on Wednesday from ETS in Montreal in likely frigid conditions, the forecast is 2C (feels like -2C) with mixed precipitation. There are 8 universities involved, 3 from BC, 2 from Ontario, 2 from Quebec and 1 from Atlantic Canada. UBC Okanagan is part of the Prairie region and defeated teams from Alberta and Saskatchewan to claim its spot.

UBC and ETS will be favourites going in, ETS won the tournament last year and UBC have won the tournament for 5 of the 7 years it has been in existence. Last year was the first year a BC university didn’t win the tournament or finish in the top 2.

There are 58 U20 players on the rosters of 7 teams with ETS having no U20 players. The youngest player is 17 years old with UVic, Dalhousie and Queen’s having players in that age bracket. The oldest player is 28 on the Montreal team. Dalhousie has the youngest team with an age average of 20.0, UBC Okanagan is next at 20.18, the oldest team is ETS with age average of 22.8.

Schedule

Match	Team 1	vs	Team 2	Date	Time (PST)
Quarterfinal #1	VIC (UVic Vikes)	v	QUE (Queen’s Gaels)	Nov 12, 2025	09:30 08:00
Quarterfinal #2	UBCO (UBC Okanagan Heat)	v	GUE (Guelph Gryphons)	Nov 12, 2025	11:30 10:30
Quarterfinal #3	UdeM (Montréal Carabins)	v	UBC (UBC Thunderbirds)	Nov 12, 2025	13:30 13:00
Quarterfinal #4	DAL (Dalhousie Tigers)	v	ETS (Piranhas de l’ÉTS)	Nov 12, 2025	15:30

Streaming: www.gsmedia.ca
Official Website: www.cumrc.com

Number of U20 Players by Team

Team	Total Roster Size	Players Under 20
Dalhousie Tigers	28	14
UBC Okanagan Heat	27	11
Queen’s Gaels	28	11
Montréal Carabins	28	7
UBC Thunderbirds	28	6
Guelph Gryphons	28	6
UVic Vikes	28	3
Piranhas de l’ÉTS	28	0

Rosters

BC Universities

UBC

Average age: 21.3
Oldest Player: 27
Youngest Player: 19

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	POSITION	AGE
Emmett	Allan	Hooker	21
Niko	Andrianos	Back Three	25
Callum	Arnesen	Flank	22
William	Barret	Centre/Wing	21
Ben	Beauchamp	Fullback	21
Max	Birtley	Back row	21
James	Biss	Fly Half	23
Jacob	Blackwood	Loose head Prop	19
Charlie	Clark	Tighthead Prop	20
Graeme	Francolini	Prop	27
Sandon	Gupta	Lock/Back row	21
Liam	James	Back Three	19
Liam	Kinghorn	Back Row	19
James	Mahaffy	Back Row/LHP	20
Alastair	Marshall	Centre/Wing	22
Ben	Martin	Scrum Half	21
Ethan	McCarthy	Hooker/Prop	24
Max	McGavern	Back Three	20
Joe	McNulty	Lock	22
Elijah	McQueen	Back Row	20
Cody	Nhanala	8 man	24
Demetri	Patterson	Winger	22
Ethan	Samuels	Back Row/LHP	19
Caleb	Seumanutafa	Fly Half	21
Aidan	Sutherland	Back row	22
Liam	Turnbull	Centre	19
Stephen	Webb	Scrum half	19
Reimu	Wilson-Valdes	Lock	23
		Average Age	21.32

UVic

Average age: 21.4
Oldest Player: 26
Youngest Player: 17

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	POSITION	AGE
Jordy	Auger	Hooker	22
Muiredach	Casey	Lock	22
Brendan	Christian	Prop	19
Dylan	Cleaver	Centre	22
Spencer	Cotie	Outside Back	20
Lachlan	Crooks	Scrum Half	20
Sully	Curran	Back Row	22
Aiden	de Wit	Back Row	19
Adam	Doane	Back Row	20
Carter	Ebrahim	Back Row	20
Alex	Gamage	Fly Half	21
Alex	Gordon	Lock	21
Sion	Griffiths	Centre	25
Hunter	Hannaford	Fly Half	22
Ryder	Heaney-Corns	Back Row	24
Jaxson	Jones	Back Row	21
Brendan	Kim	Lock	22
Thoran	Koyote	Centre/Wing	20
Marcus	Lott	Outside Back	22
Lockhart	MacGregor	Outside Back	21
Jack	Marshall	Hooker	21
Merlin	M’Cloud	Lock	24
Phoenix	Moller	Prop	23
Michael	Oughtred	Fly Half	17
Jack	Penaluna	Outside Back	20
Gareth	Sandner	Fly Half	26
Reece	Thompson	Scrum Half	20
Nic	Willey	Prop	23
		Average Age	21.39

UBC Okanagan

Average age: 20.2
Oldest Player: 24
Youngest Player: 18

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	POSITION	AGE
Ethan	Cummings	Flanker	21
Jean-Louis	Desgouttes	Fly Half	24
Armaan	Dhaliwal	Back	20
Jairen	Dhaliwal	8-Man	23
Silas	Fakauaa	Forward	21
Matthew	Harris	Centre	21
Isaac	Harrison	Back	18
Nathan	Holmes	Fly Half	21
Evan	Isaac	Scrum Half	20
Christopher	Jeannotte	Wing	19
Caleb	Johnson	Flanker	20
Noah	Krumme	Flanker	18
Sean	Lattie	Prop	20
Theo	Phillips	Scrum Half	19
Brenden	Ruddell	Back	19
Jason	Sendall	Lock	22
Restum	Shakiri	Prop	23
Ben	Shepherd	Lock	18
RJ	Stone	Flanker	22
Nathan	Tateyama	Wing	19
Grayson	Tolsdorf	Lock	20
Marcus	Towns	Back	19
Iker	Urteaga Ferradas	Scrum Half	22
Mees	van Haeft	Centre	20
Evan	Vodarek	Prop	19
Jacob	Watmough	Flanker	19
Quinten	Weys	Wing	18
		Average Age	20.18

Quebec Universities

ETS

Average age: 22.8
Oldest Player: 27
Youngest Player: 20

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	POSITION	AGE
Paul	Arditti	Demi de mêlée	25
Matys	Benoist	Pilier	23
Mathéo	Berger	2e ligne	22
Victor	Bernier	Ailier	22
Stanislas	Blazkowski	Arrière	27
Thibaut	Boissise	centre	24
Stanislas	Bresse	Ailier	25
Ethan	Canevet	3e ligne	23
Pierre	Caris	3e ligne	21
Éloi	Champoux	Pilier	23
Arnaud	Chastel	Pilier	21
Xabi	Chrit	3e ligne	24
Néal	Combelasse	Ailier	22
Martin	Coudret	Demi de mêlée	20
Bastien	Curutchet	3e ligne	21
Samuel	Da Silva	Pilier	24
Arthur	Drouillard	Pilier	23
Mathys	Estival	Arrière	23
Antoine	Lere	Centre	23
Erwan	Magendie	Talonneur	22
Brahim	Mahmoudi	3e ligne	25
Basile	Marmion	3e ligne	20
Jules	Normandin	Centre	24
Luc	Patissier	Centre	22
Lucas	Ricarde	2e ligne	23
Nathan	Schmitt	2e ligne	23
Jules	Testelin	Demi d’ouverture	22
Clément	Turlan	Talonneur	21
		Average Age	22.78

Montreal

Average age: 21.5
Oldest Player: 28
Youngest Player: 18

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	POSITION	AGE
Axel	Finagnon	Adjahi	25
Constant	Arnould	Wing	19
Éléonore (Daniel)	Audéoud	Prop	22
Aymen	Ayad	Hook, TH	20
Eliott	Berenger	LH	20
Olivier	Breton	BR, H	21
Julien	DeCarufel	Prop	23
Boubacar	Diallo	LH, H	24
Élie	Drolet	Wing	20
Augustin	Dubreuil	Wing, Centre	24
Augustin	Duchêne	Lock, Flank	19
Tom	Esteve	Centre, FB	21
Baptiste	Fanton	Lock	23
Faustin	Farison	Backrow	28
Gaspard	Jauffret	Lock, Backrow	21
Sacha	Laidouni	Back 3	19
Romain	Larcher	FH	19
Roman	Layley	Backrow	21
Gabriel	Mathieu	Flank	24
Augustin	Medina	Wing	24
Oscar	Medina	Scrumhalf	18
Matthieu	Nguyen	Centre	19
Robin	Pomi	FH	22
Louis	Ramoisy	Hook	20
Valmont	Savariaud	Wing, Centre	21
Youssef	Souihel	Scrumhalf	25
Cyprien	Vlashoff	Flank	19
Merlin	Vigneault	LH	22
		Average Age	21.53

Atlantic Universities

Dalhousie

Average age: 20
Oldest Player: 24
Youngest Player: 17

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	POSITION	AGE
Parker	Bates	1 & 3	21
Brody	Bovair	Lock	22
Kevin	Brady	Flanker	19
Patrick	Burke	Prop	19
James	Clarke	Flyhalf	22
Sean	Conroy	Scrum half	20
Brennan	Dalton	H, Flank	21
Keagan	Dalton	Flanker	18
Rory	Emmison	Hooker	18
Daniel	Fallows	Prop	19
Abdullah	Hammama	Lock	24
Jack	Hayes	Lock	19
Declan	Hearn	FH, FB	21
Dylan	Hickey	Lock, BR	22
Anders	Hoffmann	Wing	21
Charles	Hughes	Winger	18
Wyatt	Langevin	Centre, wing	19
Luke	Mead	Lock	18
Isaac	Misener	Back three	19
Ben	Orchard	Flyhalf	19
Gregory	Otto	LH	21
Brodie	Reilly	Centre	17
Mitchell	Ross	Back 3	21
Ryder	Sim	LH, TH	18
David	Skeggs	Back 3	22
Harrison	Stewart	H, BR	22
Luke	Van Dam	13, 12	19
Owen	Wright	8 man	21
		Average Age	20

Ontario Universities

Guelph

Average age: 20.9
Oldest Player: 24
Youngest Player: 18

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	POSITION	AGE
Oliver	Alpe	SH	21
Heath	Barnett-Ritcey	Hooker	21
Brenden	Black	FB	22
Liam	Bowman	Center	23
Logan	Cako	SH	20
Andrew	Ceballos	Hooker	19
Tomas	Dallan	Winger	23
Evan	Davies	Center	19
Seb	De Grandis	Backrow	22
Kobe	Faust	Flyhalf	23
Quinn	Foley	Lock	20
Tyge	Harvey	SH	20
Logan	Hatfield	Lock	18
Josh	Henry	Winger	21
Jacob	Ince	Center	23
Dan	Lucic	Prop	20
Evan	Potter	Flanker	19
Seth	Powell	Prop	21
Jackson	Priestman	Flanker	18
Kal	Sager	Center/Winger	24
Jakob	Schulz	Winger	22
Dylan	Shaw	Prop	20
Dan	Svoboda	Flanker	23
Graeme	Tremain	Center	21
Charles	Trollip	Prop	21
Owen	Williams	8 man	21
Evan	Wilson	Flanker	21
Alistair	Yeomans	Hooker	19
		Average Age	20.89

Queen’s

Average age: 20.5
Oldest Player: 25
Youngest Player: 17

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	POSITION	AGE
Cameron	Bubbyn	Hooker	21
Simon	Burns	Lock	22
Matthew	Carroll	Back Row	20
Marcus	D’Acre	Fly half	21
Oliver	Davis	Hooker	20
Angus	Dewar	Prop	20
Adam	Doyle	Scrum Half	23
Benjamin	Falkner	Lock	22
Matthew	George	Prop	18
Noah	Gittens	Wing	24
Michael	Gyles	Lock	21
Connor	Hay	Lock	21
Trekker	James	Centre	21
Ronin	Kinlock Varga	Prop	19
Chase	Kittleson	Fly half	19
Owen	Lee	Centre	21
Noah	Merkur	Wing	19
Ali	Mulyokov	Prop	20
Jett	Nesrallah	Back Row	19
Tao	Nicholl	Back Row	22
Evan	Palmer	Centre	19
Jackson	Palmer	Scrum Half	19
Coen	Quinn	Back Row	19
Sterling	Seunarine	Back Row	24
Kwame	Skerritt Williams	Prop	25
Adam	Stander	Full Back	19
Luke	Waters	Hooker	18
Thomas	Wheatley Price	Full Back	17
		Average Age	20.46

Tournament Bracket