Report from U SPORTS

In a storybook finish for the hosts, the UBC Thunderbirds sank their archrivals from Victoria with a last-second try to capture the 2025 CGIS U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship, presented by The Rec Room Granville, as they scored a 15-13 victory over the Vikes on Sunday at Thunderbird Stadium.

The win gives the Thunderbirds (7-3, 4-1 Canada West) the prestigious Monilex Trophy for the second time in a row, and the second time ever. Victoria (9-1, 5-0 Canada West), for its part, matches its best-ever finish at the national tournament.

Trailing by two points as the clock ticked toward the end of the regulation 70 minutes, the Thunderbirds mounted one final, desperate attack off a nice turnover in the 69^th minute. The ball found its way to winger Adia Pye, who bee-lined down the left sideline towards the corner flag and touched down the game-winning try as time expired, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

The victory was a monumental upset, as the top-seeded Vikes had defeated UBC in all three of their previous meetings this season, entered the contest with a perfect 9-0 record and were looking to avenge last year’s defeat in the national title game.

“Friday night was stressful, and tonight was even worse,” stated UBC head coach Dean Murten after the exhilarating match. “I want to start off by saying that UVic are an absolutely outstanding team…they’ve got some world-class players, they’re well-coached, they’re aggressive defensively and knew it was going to come down to the wire, but not the last play of the game absolutely not!”

UBC’s triumph was spearheaded by tournament MVP Charity Williams, whose relentless defensive pressure and leadership were instrumental throughout the championship. Players of the game were UBC’s Kiki Idowu and Victoria’s Emily Findlay.

The game was a classic, defensive battle from the start. Victoria’s Olivia Newsome opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the seventh minute for an early 3-0 lead. UBC responded just before halftime, as Olivia Sarabura powered over for a try, converted by Brooke Roddham, to give the Thunderbirds a 7-3 lead at the break.

UBC extended their lead early in the second half with a Roddham penalty goal, making it 10-3. The Vikes, however, stormed back. Ella O’Regan scored two second half tries, the second in the 65th minute, to put Victoria ahead 13-10 and set the stage for the dramatic finale.

The UBC defense held firm in the final minutes, including a key period where they weathered a Victoria attack, to get the ball back and launch the series of phases that led to Pye’s championship-winning score.

The next U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship is set for Nov. 4-8, 2026, in Guelph, Ont.