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The UBC Old Boy Ravens earned a famous victory over their Alma mater on Saturday as they defeated the UBC Thunderbirds 16-10 to claim the CDI Premier League title and lift the Rounsefell Cup at Rotary Stadium. It was the 6th Cup win for the Ravens in their history and the first since 1994, in doing so ending UBC’s run at three consecutive titles.
While the players may have graduated from the same systems, the two sides played contrasting styles. The Thunderbirds featured their trademark all-attack with Theo Sauder’s sniping runs keeping the Ravens defense honest. On the other side the Old Boys favored a more traditional tactical approach, their No10 Adam McQueen using an educated left boot to keep the T-Birds pinned in their own end.
McQueen’s line drive from nearly 40 metres opened the scoring and not long after his kicking tee would be summoned again to add the extras on the first try. Taking the ball at first receiver, Aaron McLelland spotted a mismatch with virtually the entire UBC tight five in front of him. A hitch step and a change of gears was all it took as he sliced through the line and around the corner to touch down under the posts.
A yellow card to Nathan Kendrick for a tip-tackle handed the Thunderbirds a man advantage but they could not capitalise. In danger of heading into the break without a score Sauder summoned a bit of his own magic, stabbing a cheeky chip ahead off the side of his boot that stopped perfectly ahead of the dead ball line. Elias Ergas lost his footing in the excitement but recovered quickly enough to touch it down before the cover could arrive.
Sauder’s conversion made it a seven-pointer and he would add a penalty goal mid-way through the second half after Connor Hamilton was binned for a high shot. Once again UBC struggled to take full advantage, however, and instead it was McQueen who landed a reply soon after to nudge the Raven ahead once again.
It would prove to be the winning kick. Owain Ruttan suffered the same fate as Hamilton for a dangerous tackle and McQueen tacked on another three to push the score out of penalty range. A furious final assault from the Thunderbirds carried over into stoppage time but just when it seemed as though they might score, Sean Ferguson pounced off his wing to cut down UBC well behind the gainline and on the ensuing phase a knock-on welcomed the final whistle.
SCORING
THUNDERBIRDS 10
Tries – E. Ergas (35’)
Cons – T. Sauder 1/1 (36’)
Pens – T. Sauder 1/2 (57’)
Yellow cards – O. Ruttan (77’)
RAVENS 16
Tries – A. McLelland (18’)
Cons – A. McQueen 1/1 (19’)
Pens – A. McQueen 3/4 (16’, 63’, 78’)
Yellow cards – N. Kendrick (23’), C. Hamilton (56’)
TEAMS
UBC THUNDERBIRDS
1 Cali Martinez, 2 Conor Sampson, 3 Joe Sourisseau, 4 Nolan Howell, 5 James Carson, 6 Michael Smith, 7 Jake Ikeda, 8 Nick Allen, 9 Will Percillier, 10 Theo Sauder (capt.), 11 Cole Keffer, 12 John Jubenvill, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Elias Ergas, 15 Nick Collett
Replacements: 16 Nick Frost, 17 Tyler Rowland, 18 Owain Ruttan, 19 Cameron McWilliam, 20 Fraser Hurst, 21 Daniel Archer, 22 Kevin Vertkas, 23 Harrison Smith
UBCOB RAVENS
1 Paul Ahn, 2 Nathan Kendrick, 3 Chris Taylor, 4 Sam Clark, 5 Jon Phelan, 6 Karl Moran, 7 Simon Etheve, 8 Connor Hamilton, 9 Jorden Sandover-Best, 10 Adam McQueen, 11 Cully Quirke (capt.), 12 Ben Grant, 13 AJ King, 14 Sean Ferguson, 15 Aaron McLelland
Replacements: 16 Garrett Garbe, 17 Marc Tait-Belvedere, 18 Curtis Delmonico, 19 Nick Waggott, 20 David O’Donoghue, 21 Kol Hendrikson, 22 Harjun Gill, 23 Kelepi Gucake
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Chris Assmus (RC)
Assistants: David Smortchevsky (RC) & Saro Turner (RC)
