October 31, 2025

Thunderbirds weather Gaels' comeback attempt, advance to national final

In a hard-fought match, the UBC Thunderbirds earned their chance at a second straight championship defeating the Queen’s Gaels 20-14 in a tense semifinal at the 2025 U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship.

Playing before a home crowd at Thunderbird Stadium, UBC seized control early. Fly-half Brooke Roddham struck a penalty goal in the 7th minute to open the scoring. Full back Olivia Sarabura followed up with the game’s first try and Roddham’s conversion less than 10 minutes later gave UBC a 10-0 lead forcing the Gaels to play from behind.

Not to be outmatched early, Queen’s responded late in the half, as centre Mika Matsukubo powered over for a try. The conversion from Player of the Game Lizzie Gibson narrowed the gap to three points. UBC responded quickly extending their lead to 13-7 on a second Roddham penalty just before the whistle blew for the halftime break.

UBC again jumped into action as play restarted in the second half with Veteran Charity Williams crashing over the line for a try just three minutes in. With Roddham’s conversion, the Thunderbirds took a commanding 20-7 but the Gaels refused to surrender. Gibson, a constant threat for Queen’s, scored a try of her own at 46 minutes and calmly added the conversion, bringing her team within a single score at 20-14.

The final 20 minutes was a defensive battle, with both sides trading possession and big tackles. The UBC defense, anchored by Player of the Game Teya Ashworth, held firm against a relentless Queen’s attack in the closing stages to preserve the victory and secure their spot in the national final.

With the win, the UBC Thunderbirds advance to Sunday’s gold medal game at 4 p.m. (all times Pacific), where they will face their conference rivals, the Victoria Vikes, in a rematch of last year’s national championship. The Queen’s Gaels will also return to the pitch on Sunday hoping to pick up the bronze medal when they face the Guelph Gryphons in the third-place game at 1:30 p.m.