Below is all you need to know about the 2023 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championships – from results to seedings and how to watch.
The 2023 Raymond James Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship will see two-time defending champion UBC enter the tournament as the top seed, as the draw and bracket was officially announced for the championship event, which will be hosted by Trinity Western University at the Willoughby Community Park Stadium. The tournament begins Wednesday, Nov. 15 with four quarter-final matches and concludes Sunday, Nov. 19.
Tournament passes and individual game tickets are available here or they can be purchased at the door.
All matches will be streamed live for free at www.therugbynetwork.com.
2023 CUMRC RESULTS AND RECAPS
QUARTERFINALS
UVIC Vikes 40-19 Queen’s Gaels
The No. 2 Victoria Vikes came out strong and never looked back as they defeated the No. 7 Queen’s Gaels 40-19 in the second quarterfinal match at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship Wednesday afternoon at the. Willoughby Community Park Stadium at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
Leading the way for the Vikes was Evan Smith with two tries, and Alex Gamage with four converts. Also scoring tries for Victoria was Jordy Auger, Muiredach Casey, and Morgan Di Nardo. Scoring tries for Queen’s were Alexander Pipchuk, Evan Raymond, and Deklan Williamson. The Gaels James Webb had two converts.
UBC Thunderbirds 41-3 Calgary Dinos
The No. 1 seed UBC Thunderbirds used an impressive performance to defeat the No. 8 seed Calgary Dinos 41-3 in the final quarterfinal match at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship Wednesday evening at the Langley Events Centre’s Willoughby Community Park Stadium. The win by the Thunderbirds sends them to the championship semifinal Friday evening.
Takoda McMullin scored three tries to lead the T-Birds while Alastair Marshall and Talon McMullin each tallied two of their own. Jared Andrews Almack and Kieran Martin added single tries to round out the UBC scoring. Calgary’s lone points came from the foot of Max Therrien.
Guelph Gryphons 12-10 TWU Spartans
The No. 5 Guelph Gryphons Kobe Faust scored on the final play of the match to defeat the No. 4 Trinity Western Spartans 12-10 in the third quarterfinal match at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship Wednesday afternoon at the. Willoughby Community Park Stadium at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The win by the Gryphons sends them to the championship semi-finals Friday evening.
Leading the way for the Spartans was third-year Matthew Willemse (Maritzburg, South Africa) with 10 points on a PK and a converted try. While the Gryphons had a conversion by Tomas Dallan, a try by Brenden Black, and the winning try by Kobe Faust.
Memorial Sea Hawks 33-21 Ottawa Gee Gees
After falling behind 14-0 the No 6 Memorial Sea-Hawks defeated the No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees 33-21 in the opening match of the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship Wednesday morning at the. Willoughby Community Park Stadium at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
Leading the way for the Sea-Hawks was James Clarke with 18 points on two tries and three converts, with Jack McCarthy and Stephen Mallard each adding a try. Scoring for Ottawa were Glenn Roy with three converts, and Graeme Neill Klein, Wade Marshall, and Evan Roy with a try each.
2023 CUMRC SEEDINGS and SCHEDULE
The seeding order for the 2023 championship respects the final ranking order of each conference’s top team from the 2022 CUMRC, with BC2, BC3 and the OUA finalist being seeded at the discretion of the selection committee, based on strength of competition and season performance. The committee also avoided inter-conference match-ups for the quarter-finals.
This 2023 Raymond James Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship sees six teams return from the 2022 event, with Queen’s University back in the fray for the fourth time in their history, while Ottawa will make its debut at the national tournament.
UBC, UVIC and Guelph are the only three teams who have competed in all six iterations of the CUMRC since its inception in 2017. Calgary will be making its third straight appearance, while both TWU and Memorial will be in the tournament for the second year in a row.
2023 CUMRC Seeding
#1 – UBC Thunderbirds (BC1)
#2 – Victoria Vikes (BC2)
#3 – Ottawa Gee-Gees (RSEQ Champion)
#4 – Guelph Gryphons (OUA Champions)
#5 – Trinity Western Spartans (BC3)
#6 – Memorial Sea-Hawks (Atlantic Champion)
#7 – Queen’s Gaels (OUA Finalist)
#8 – Calgary Dinos (Prairies Champion)
The 2023 event will mark the third time the CUMRC has been held in B.C., with Victoria having hosted the event in 2018 and UBC having hosted in 2022. Below is the official Schedule for the Tournament.
2023 CUMRC Schedule
Wednesday | Nov. 15
11 a.m. #3 Ottawa vs. #6 Memorial
2 p.m. #2 Victoria vs. #7 Queen’s
5 p.m. #4 Guelph 12-10 #5 Trinity Western
7:30 p.m. #1 UBC 41-3 #8 Calgary
Friday | Nov. 17
11:00AM – #7 Queen’s vs. #3 Ottawa
2:00PM – #8 Calgary vs. #5 Trinity Western
5:00PM – #2 Victoria vs. #6 Memorial
7:30PM – #1 UBC vs. #4 Guelph
Sunday | Nov 19
9:00AM – 7th Place Match
11:30AM – 5th Place Match
2:00PM – Bronze Medal Match
5:00PM – Gold Medal Match
BC Rugby
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