Calgary, Alta. – The University of Victoria women’s rugby team fell to the University of British Columbia, 51-22, Oct. 20 at McMahon Stadium in the Canada West Championship final to claim the silver medal.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
UBC jumps to early lead
- Two tries and a penalty goal by the Thunderbirds put UBC ahead, 15-0, 16 minutes into the game.
Grant puts the Vikes on the board
- Following a Vikes maul, the Vikes got the ball over the Maddy Grant, who found a gap and snuck through the UBC defenders to run the ball into the in-goal for the try. Vanessa Chiappetta was successful on the convert, bringing the score to 15-7 in the 19th minute.
Chiappetta gets final Vikes points of the first half
- UBC added 10 points to its lead over the next 10 minutes, until a lineout for the Vikes sparked a scoring chance. Another maul for the Vikes resulted in Gwynnie Fry swinging the ball to the right to Chiappetta, who saw the gap and turned on the jets to get over the line and touch the ball down for the try in the 30th minute, bringing the score to 25-12.
- The Thunderbirds would score once more in the final minute to take a 32-12 lead into the halftime break.
Hill-Huse responds to T-Birds try
- UBC scored first to open the second half, taking a 39-12 lead. However, a push by the Vikes in the 50th minute saw Chloe Hill-Huse quickly pick the ball up and dive over the line, staying low to put a try on the board. Chiappetta made the convert to bring UBC’s lead down to 39-19.
Vikes add points on penalty goal, can’t catch ‘Birds
- Chiappetta added three points for the Vikes via penalty goal in the 65th minute, bringing the score to 39-22. However, the Thunderbirds would score in the 67th and 71st minutes to claim the 51-22 win over the Vikes.
Four Vikes named Canada West All-Stars
FROM THE FIELD – Head coach Brittany Waters
“UBC played really well today. They capitalized on every single one of our mistakes and just ran away with it. All their players showed up and when a collective group shows up, they’re hard to beat. I’m really proud of our athletes fighting for the full 80 minutes. We talked a lot about grit and we never let off. The game didn’t go our way, but still really proud of our athletes.”
WORTH NOTING
- Vanessa Chiappetta led the Vikes with 12 points from one try, two converts, and a penalty goal. The try marked her first as a Vike.
- Chloe Hill-Huse scored her third try of the year, while Maddy Grant recorded her second of the season in the championship final.
- The Vikes sit at 5-2 on the season following a 4-1 regular season and 1-1 showing in the Canada West playoffs.
UP NEXT
The Vikes head to the University of Prince Edward Island for the U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship, Oct. 30-Nov. 3. Catch all the games on CBC Sports.