T-Birds open season this weekend against Vikes in U SPORTS Championship rematch

VANCOUVER – After successfully defending their crown and repeating as U SPORTS Women’s Rugby national champions the UBC Thunderbirds return to the pitch this weekend to kick off their 2026 Canada West season Saturday afternoon against an all-too familiar foe in Victoria. Fittingly, the nations No. 1 ranked T-Birds’ campaign starts where their last one ended, against the No. 2 seed, Vikes after the rivals faced each other in each of the last two U SPORTS title matches. “Any game against the University of Victoria is a challenging contest,” said UBC head coach Dean Murten . The team has recently…