VICTORIA, British Columbia – The No. 7 Trinity Western Spartans fell 54-10 to the No. 3 Victoria Vikes in Coastal Cup action Saturday afternoon at Wallace Field in Victoria, B.C. The teams entered the match ranked seventh and third, respectively, in this week's Canadian university men's rugby rankings.
First-year prop Santiago Acuña (Santiago, Chile) and second-year flanker/8-man
Benard Bjorndal (Abbotsford, B.C.) each scored a try for the Spartans. TWU was unsuccessful on both conversion attempts.
Victoria's Jack Marshall and Reece Thompson scored two tries apiece, while Keegan Neary, Alex Gordon, Robert Reid and Gavin Kelly added one each. Jack Driscoll kicked seven conversions for the Vikes.
UP NEXT
The Spartans' Future XV will travel to Seattle to face Washington Saturday, October 17 at IMA Sports Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. (PT). TWU's first team will then host Edmonton Gold U23 on November 7 at LEC SE Field in Langley, B.C., beginning at 3:15 p.m. (PT), before hosting the McTavish Cup national championship November 17–21 at The Stadium at the Langley Events Centre.
QUOTABLE
Andrew Evans, TWU Head Coach
"Today was very difficult to get momentum and was a sluggish game on our side. We lacked possession early and penalties really shot us in the foot. Adam and Tyson got their first 1xv caps today and made a positive impact. D'Angelo played the entire second half at tighthead, adding to our depth.
John Paterson demonstrated the energy we desire as an entire squad when he came on, and it is a great example for all our players to follow."
"Thankfully, we have great leadership under
Caleb Graham and a hungry team that will analyze and improve moving forward. We have faith building towards Nationals that we will be firing on all cylinders and be able to topple teams like UVIC as we have done in the past."
SCORING SUMMARY
First Half
6' – VIC try: Jack Marshall; conversion: Jack Driscoll – VIC 7-0
12' – VIC try: Keegan Neary; conversion: Jack Driscoll – VIC 14-0
19' – VIC try: Reece Thompson; conversion missed – VIC 19-0
25' – VIC try: Reece Thompson; conversion: Jack Driscoll – VIC 26-0
34' – TWU try: Santiago Acuña; conversion missed – VIC 26-5
39' – VIC try: Alex Gordon; conversion: Jack Driscoll – VIC 33-5
40' – VIC try: Robert Reid; conversion: Jack Driscoll – VIC 40-5
Second Half
43' – VIC try: Jack Marshall; conversion: Jack Driscoll – VIC 47-5
69' – VIC try: Gavin Kelly; conversion: Jack Driscoll – VIC 54-5
73' – TWU try:
Benard Bjorndal; conversion missed – VIC 54-10
NOTABLE
- TWU finishes Coastal Cup play with a 0-4 record and moves to 1-5 in first-team matches this season.
- Bjorndal has scored four tries over the Spartans' last three Coastal Cup matches.
- Victoria scored six tries in the first half and two in the second half.
- The Vikes also defeated TWU 45-24 on September 18 in Langley.
- TWU has an automatic berth in the McTavish Cup national championship as the host school.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track and field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes independently in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since joining U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 15 U SPORTS team championships and 35 Canada West team championships.
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning and holds three Canada Research Chairs. Through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education, TWU offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and adult degree-completion programs that equip leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
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