Canada West Playoffs Start Today at UVic: Vikes v Alberta and UBC v Lethbridge

UPDATE: UVic defeated Alberta 74-14 and UBC defeated Lethbridge 53-31. Both UVic and UBC qualify for the nationals and will face off on Sunday to determine CanWest #1 ranking. More to follow.

The CanWest championships take place this week, Thursday and Sunday, with the top two teams going to the national finals in Guelph in two weeks time. The winners from today’s matches will qualify and also meet on Sunday to determine final ranking. The UVic and UBC rosters for today are listed below, also the CanWest media release with more information and streaming information.

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Front Runners: The Story of UBC Women’s Rugby by Solana Pasqual

This documentary on the UBC women’s rugby program starts with its history and an interview with Ruth Hellerud-Brown recounting her first involvement in 1991. It then moves through the years and culminates in the story of the national championships in 2024 and 2025 and interviews with the current players. On the coaching side there are interviews with Dean Murten, Jake Thiel and Maria Gallo. The timing of the video release is good as we’re just starting the 2026 championship cycle where UBC are currently ranked 5th, behind Queen’s, Guelph, Laval and UVic. Will there be another chapter to write in the story, we’ll find out in November.

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Canada Win Gold in FISU Tournament

The Canadian women’s university team have claimed the title as top Rugby 7s team in the world. They defeated Australia and France along the way to claim the title. Canada’s only loss was to Australia in the final pool match on Day 2. That result put them in the quarter-finals against host South Africa, they won that game 24-14 and earned a rematch with Australia in the semi-finals. Canada got their revenge for the pool loss with a 19-14 win over Australia, Canada then blanked France 20-0 in the Gold medal match. France won Silver, Japan Bronze, Australia were 4th, Ireland 5th, USA 6th. In the men’s competition host South Africa won Gold, Uganda Silver, Argentina Bronze.

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Two Important University Matches Kick Off the Season in BC: Men UBC v TWU and Women UVic v UBC – Friday Night UBC 66 – TWU 0; Saturday Vikes Women Dominate UBC

The BC Premier kicks off next weekend, and a chance to see what the rosters will look like for the new season but this weekend gives us a taste of things to come with two important university matches. For the men it’s a first look at UBC and TWU head to head, their game is on today at 6pm at the Ken Woods Field at UBC . TWU are hosting the university championships this year so have an automatic berth but UBC will have to battle UVic for the remaining one BC spot left. On the women’s side it’s the top two contenders for the women’s university title this year and they go head to head on Saturday at 1pm at Wallace Field.

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New CUMRC Format Means UVic or UBC Will Be Omitted from University Championship for First Time

The McTavish Cup awarded to the top men’s University team was started in 2017. It has been won by UBC five times in its eight year history (no tournament due to COVID in 2020), UVic have won it once. UBC have placed top three in all eight years, UVic have finished top three in five of the eight years, 4th one year, 5th twice. Despite being the two most successful teams in the competition, one of them won’t be going to the championship this year. Organizers have decided on the following regional allocations this year.

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UVic Upset UBC 26-5 to Win Final Tournament but UBC Win CanWest 7s Series Title

The previous story heading was “Can UBC Be Defeated” and the answer was yes as UVic proved today but UBC win the CanWest 7s title by virtue of their first two tournament wins. UVic claim 2nd place in the series and TWU 3rd. The final session at UBC including the UVic v UBC match can be viewed on the Canada West TV stream. Commentary today was provided by Shalaya Valenzuela and Skye Farish.

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UBC Win 2nd Tournament in Victoria – Poised for 4th Consecutive Series Title with One Tournament Remaining

UBC have all but clinched the CanWest 7s title, it would be their 4th straight title and would match UVic who won 4 titles from 2018 to 2022. There’s one tournament left at UBC in March but with a commanding 6 point lead in the series standings it would not only require UVic to beat UBC but another team to beat UBC as well, unlikely based on current form. Top try scorers in the tournament for UBC Jaime Dickson with 6 tries, Adia Pye,  Kiki Idowu, Piper Logan all with 5 tries. For UVic Ivy Poetker was top try scorer with 8 tries, making her the top tournament try scorer and with 7 tries in the first tournament, she’s leading the series try scoring count at 15. Adia Pye with 9 tries in Edmonton and 5 in Victoria is 2nd with 14 tries overall.

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UBC Win First Tournament of CanWest 7s Series in Edmonton

UBC continue to roll in 7s as they take the first of three tournaments in the CanWest 7s series. They are three-time defending champions and it looks like they may be in line for a four-peat with UVic their closest rivals. Adia Pye scored 9 tries for UBC in the tournament, Kiki Idowu scored 5 tries, Lana Dueck 4 tries, Olivia Sahabura 3 tries, Piper Logan 2 tries. For UVic, who came 2nd, top scorers were Ivy Poetker with 7 tries, Olivia Newsome 4 tries, Vanessa Chiapetta 3 tries, Maggie Mackinnon 2 tries. For TWU who came 3rd, Kelsa Kempf scored 6 tries, Kamryn Howlett 4 tries, Ava Van Santen 3 tries. The next tournament is in Victoria on Feb. 7th and 8th.

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McGill University Women’s Rugby Program Reaches $55k of $75k Goal in Fundraiser to Reinstate Program

There was a lot of press in November around the McGill University decision to cut 25 sports programs. The McGill University women’s rugby program, which was one of the 25, started an awareness campaign and a fundraising campaign to get the program reinstated. They exceeded their initial goal of $35k and are currently aiming for $75k with $55k currently raised. It reminded me of a similar UBC action in 2014 which included a notice that the UBC women’s rugby program would be cut. The difference is that the UBC process seemed to go through a longer consultation process and at least a couple of reviews. The UBC women’s rugby program is still very much active and they’ve actually won the last two university championships.

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The Guelph Formula for Success: Player Talent and Coach of the Tournament Cory Hector