The University of British Columbia Rugby Club

UBC lost the first "Boot" game this past weekend in Victoria. A hardy defensive effort during the first half saw the Birds ahead at the break 15-10. The defensive effort certainly drained the collective fuel tank and Uvic responded with six tries in the second half to win the game 48-15. The game started with UBC being backed up into their own end for the first 10 minutes but their well organized defence kept the Vikes out of the in goal area and  the opposition settled for a drop goal 10 minutes into the first half.  The ensuing kickoff resulted in a Vikes penalty and first year winger Francois du Toit slotted the 35 m penalty to even the score.

     The Thunderbirds were stretched to the limit but in the end their defensive wall did not break. UBC defeated the 2009 provincial champions , Meralomas, on Saturday with a great defensive effort, holding the Meralomas to a drop goal and a penalty kick. The Birds came out of the blocks flying putting considerable pressure on the orange and black. Eventually, Jon Hill put one across the goal line from a short pick and drive and after 10 minutes it was 5-0 UBC. The hard running of Taylor Dalziel and Will Philippson put them through gaps on many occasions but the Meraloma scrabble defense managed to stiffle any offensive rewards. The first half was back and forth affair with both teams taking turns attacking each other's goal lines.

 On a perfect sunny day at Brockton Oval, the Thunderbirds outlasted the Vancouver Rowing Club and posted a 24-11 victory in the rubber match between the two clubs. Previous action saw the UBC Totems (frosh team) post a 43-17 victory over the Rowers while the Braves went down by a score of 38-28 for the Rowing Club.

The Birds pressed early in this game and found themselves camped on the Rowing Club goal line but the Rowers defence stood it's ground and UBC had to settle for a penalty kick in the first quarter. Rowing Club quickly countered and from a driving line out they touched down for five and the half had the home team up 5-3.

UBC defeated Burnaby RFC by a score of 25-15 last Saturday October 24th at UBC. The Birds started out with lots of passion and energy and were rewarded with a  converted try and a penalty in the first twenty minutes of the match. The Birds had numerous opportunities to score but were always one stray pass or one dropped ball away from going into the in goal area. Burnaby collected themselves and were able to link phases together and put two across the goal line and ended the half with a 12-10 lead. Once again the T-Birds started the second half with lots of possession. The forwards put a tremendous amount of pressure on the Burnaby pack in the set pieces which eventually lead to two more tries and a penalty kick in the second half.

UBC faced a determined and feisty Bayside U23 team this past Saturday at Wolfson Fields. Bayside drew first blood within the first five minutes capitalizing on a UBC turnover and quickly posted a 7-0 lead. Pressure from the UBC forwards resulted in a try, a penalty try and a penalty kick to go into the half with a 15-7 lead.  UBC Forwards started to show a bit more experience in  the lineout and drives from the base of loose pieces to score two nice tries near the end of the game. Dan Dibadj used good footwork to beat a couple of defenders and scored a nicely worked try by the backs. Some sloppy defence on UBC's part resulted in two Bayside tries as Sharks put together many phases and controlled the ball very well during he later stages of the game.

UBC Rugby Alumni  Dinner will be held November 26th at the University of British Columbia Golf Club. For ticket information please contact Spence McTavish at  smctavis@interchange.ubc.ca or 604 822=5958

 UBC Thunderbirds posted heir first win of the  fall season with a 17-7 victory over the Capilano's Elite U23 squad. Taylor Dalziel ran in two tries in the first half,  one converted by Matt Kopman, while Jon Hill was the sole scorer for the Birds in the late stages of the second half The Birds enjoyed most of the possession  and territory in the first 40 minutes but the Caps defended extremely well  and UBC switched ends with only a 12-0 lead at the half. The Caps put together a number of line breaks in the second half and were finally rewarded with a nicely worked try to bring the game to within one score. UBC forced the Caps back in their own end and scored a nicely worked try by Jon Hill to finish with a 17-7 victory.