Rugby 7s National Championships - Day One

Both the men's and women's UBC Okanagan Heat rugby squads kicked off their 7s national championship runs today in Langford (Photo by Heat Athletics)

Men’s Rugby 7s
Friday March 7th,2013

Westhills Stadium, Langford B.C. and Goudy turf field

Game 1: UBC Okanagan Heat def. Vancouver Island Mariners 29-0

Game 2: Calgary Dinos def. UBC Okanagan Heat 15-5

Game 3: UBC Okanagan Heat def. Regina Cougars 15-10

LANGFORD, BC – The Heat men’s rugby team had a productive first day of their national University 7s championship on the island, going 2-1 in outings against their Pool 3 opponents, with a final pool matchup with Waterloo Saturday morning before the next round. UBC Okanagan currently sits second in their pool with seven points and a differential of +24.

The Heat came out of the gate strong, torching the VIU Mariners in a 29-0 victory before meeting their first real test in the Calgary Dinos. The Heat fought hard and hung around the offensively dominant Dinos all game long, and missed a great chance to tie or take the lead following a 10-5 second half deficit, but couldn’t keep a grip on the ball past the end line, eventually turning it over. Going the other way, the Dinos put even more pressure on the Heat with a try with two minutes to play, culminating in a 15-5 lead that would not be recovered.

Hoping to bounce back and close out the day on a good note, the Heat sized up the Regina Cougars for a scrappy and hard fought match. The final five minutes became a slugfest at Regina’s end line as the Heat, tied up 10-10 with the Cougars, repeatedly broke through the scrum into the in-goal zone, but could not manage to put the ball down. Finally, Antun Peko (Vancouver, BC) found the sliver he needed to notch the try that would be the win.

Day 2 for the men will begin tomorrow morning at 10:28 a.m. against Waterloo, with the second round to follow. You can view the schedule here: [full schedule PDF], or on the tournament website: http://www.canadianuniversity7s.com

Watch it all on: www.rugbycanada.tv

Full standings

Pool 3 (M)

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Women’s Rugby 7s
Friday March 7th,2013

Westhills Stadium, Langford B.C. and Goudy turf field

Game 1: Victoria Vikes def. UBC Okanagan Heat 17-5

Game 2: UBC Okanagan Heat def. Regina Cougars 29-5

Game 3: UBC Okanagan Heat def. Mount Royal Cougars 34-0

LANGFORD, BC – Building upon their successes last season, the UBC Okanagan Heat women’s rugby team stumbled out of the gate to begin their three day tourney on the island, ultimately falling to the Victoria Vikes 17-5.

Not to be deterred, the team rallied and hunted some big cats as they put on sequential beatdowns over Regina and Mount Royal, with the Cougars squads falling in 29-5 and 34-0 victories for the Heat, respectively. The Heat nearly shutout their Regina opponents in their second match of the day, but the Cougars managed a try with a missed kick to give them five points in the final ten seconds of the match.

A busy day with three games leaves the Heat right in the middle of the pack of five teams in Pool 3 at the national championships, with a sizable margin of scoring difference between them and the currently fourth-place Cougars.

Tomorrow morning the Heat will square off against Humber College at 10:28 a.m., with the second round to follow in the afternoon. You can view the schedule here: [full schedule PDF], or on the tournament website: http://www.canadianuniversity7s.com.

Watch it all on: www.rugbycanada.tv

Full standings

Pool 3 (W)