Markham's Andrew Coe helps UBC capture 3rd straight BC Championship

Markham's own Andrew Coe scored three times and was a big reason why UBC defeated Burnaby Lake for a third successive Rounsefell Cup. We will have more news on Andrew later this week.

Here is the full story from http://www.ubcrugby.com/news

Photo: Andrew Coe holding the Rounsefell Cup

Despite injuries and unavailabilities the Birds still put out a strong starting fifteen and a deep bench to face the League Winners Burnaby Lake, whose only defeat during the season had come against UBC in the Lower Mainland Cup Final in November. The first scoring chance in the game fell to UBC but Adam McQueen (Canmore) missed a long range effort. Burnaby responded with a period of pressure that lasted almost fifteen minutes as they assaulted the Birds’ line. Two kickable penalties against UBC were spurned by the Lakers who opted instead to go for touch and a line-out drive. Both initiatives were turned back as the Birds defended in waves and even managed to break into the Burnaby half with intermittent breaks, notably by left winger Elias Ergas (Collingwood). When the mass attack had subsided, UBC found itself in the Burnaby half with a scrum feed in the centre of the field. With attacking options on both sides, scrum half Jorden Sandover-Best (Robert Bateman) chose to go right. He was release by number 8 Connor Hamilton (St George’s) and sliced through a half gap before bringing fullback Andrew Coe (Bill Crothers) back on a switch. Coe, who has been in devastating form since his return after Christmas, accelerated into space and broke through attempted tackles to score on the right. McQueen converted and UBC were up 7-0. Burnaby responded almost immediately forcing the Birds to concede a penalty in the twenty two. This time the opposition chose to go for points but Goodall, from his favoured left side, pulled the kick wide. The Birds immediately went back on the attack and were unlucky not to score in the left corner following a line-out on the right. Then, from another scrum in left field UBC moved the ball right with both centers McQueen and Ben Lesage (Henry Wisewood) making breaks before winger Manar Kulkhan (Port Moody) drove for the right corner. The forwards then took the ball tight before it was released quickly to the right where a long cut out pass found Ergas in full stride to score in the left corner. McQueen hit the bar with the attempted conversion but the Birds’ lead was now 12-0. From the kick off UBC kicked long and Burnaby countered setting up an attack on the right in the Birds’ territory. Then came a score which has been indicative of UBC’s play for the whole season. A break by Burnaby came to stop with an errant pass which was the signal for the Birds to take immediate advantage. The ball was moved to the left wing where Ergas made another long break only to be stopped short of the line. From the ensuing contact Burnaby appeared to have recovered the ball but then failed to find touch on the clearance. The Birds countered again shifting the ball from left to right with Lesage driving down the flank. From the ruck Theo Sauder (St George’s) found prop Neil Courtney (Handsworth) in midfield. Courtney straightened the attack up in center field and from the tackle the ball was transferred with speed and accuracy to the left where Coe was on hand again to score. McQueen again hit the bar with the conversion but saw the ball bounce the right way for the conversion and a 19-0 UBC lead. The first half finished with the Birds pressuring the Burnaby goal line once more. While Burnaby was behind at the half, it was still putting together lengthy periods of possession that was controlling territory and testing the UBC defense there was nothing to show on the scoreboard for their efforts. Meanwhile, the UBC forwards had also handled the Lakers’ scrum which was great testament to the whole pack and particularly props Courtney and Chris Taylor (Dromore) who had played most of the half with an injured shoulder. This signaled a change for the second half as Clint Lemkus (Paul Roos) joined the fray in Taylor’s place. From the kick off UBC put huge pressure on the Burnaby ball carriers who tried to break out of its own twenty two. The UBC back five had driven carriers back and competed for the ball at contact throughout the opening period with flankers Connor Weyell (Handsworth) and Nakai Penny (Penticton) along with hooker Alex Mascott (St George’s) prominent at the breakdown. On this occasion lock Thomas Roche (St John’s Ravenscourt) made multiple tackles to keep Burnaby trapped in their own zone on the right. When the ball was shipped left it was ultimately dropped and this provided UBC with another scrum deep in Burnaby territory. Although it was not the best scrum of the afternoon, UBC turned the possession into go forward ball, first through Lemkus and the James Carson (Oak Bay) on the right before Lemkus carried strongly again on the left. When the ball was released to Theo Sauder there was a mismatch in the defensive line and he took immediate advantage to slice through and score under the posts. McQueen converted and with less than five minutes gone UBC were in front 26-0. Once again, Burnaby responded and got the reward needed after just five minutes when a long phase of continuity resulted in a scrum on the Burnaby five meter line in the right corner. When the first scrum went down Burnaby was awarded a penalty try and the gap was reduced to 26-7. Burnaby came again pounding the UBC defense, kept out by a huge one on one tackle by Andrew Coe before eventually scoring again in the left corner through McQueen, their full back. Stand-off Reekie missed the touch line conversion as the score moved to 26-12 with twenty minutes to go. UBC brought on flanker Jake Ikeda (Magee) and moved Weyell into lock for Roche with the aim of bringing fresh competition to the breakdown and tackle and, as Burnaby continued to mount pressure through long periods of ball control, Sam Clark (Kitsilano) replaced Carson and Cole Keffer (Sutherland) came on for Ergas to further bolster the defense. With just over five minute remaining Burnaby fund joy again on the left when Albornoz plunged over in the left corner. Reekie missed the conversion again and, with the score at 26-17, it meant that the Lakers needed to core twice to take the lead. The Birds were aggressive from the ensuing kick-off, and it was Neil Courtney who forced a penalty at the tackle. McQueen kick to touch, the forward drove the line-out, Sauder made a half break towards the posts and Burnaby was penalized for not allowing him to release the ball. McQueen stepped up to kick the penalty to extend the lead to 29-17 and the referee blew up for full time. UBC Thunderbirds had retained the Rounsefell Cup for the third year in row joining the great Kats and James Bay teams as the only Clubs to achieve this feat.

Original article can be found at http://www.ubcrugby.com/news