U Sports Women's Rugby Championship 2025

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Surrounded by Ottawa players in grey jerseys, a Laval player in a black jersey looks to pass the ball to a teammate.
November 5

Laval takes fifth place with an impressive showing against their in-conference rivals

Completing their journey back to success after losing in the tournament’s opening game, L’Université Laval Rouge et Or dominated their in-conference rivals, the University of Ottawa’s Gee-Gees by a score of 40 –14. This was the consolation final for the U Sports Women’s Rugby Championship — the first match of the final day of competition at Thunderbird Stadium — with fifth place on the line. Read More.

sportsLuiza Teixeira with photos by Raul del Rosario
A group of T-Birds, adorned with medals, take a group photo after their win.
November 4

Last-second glory: UBC steals the championship in a thrilling finale, beating Victoria 15-13

The Thunderbirds had less than one minute left to salvage their season. Hundreds of people in the crowd — UBC and Victoria Vikes fans alike — stood up, knowing that whatever happened, one of the two teams would be bringing home the trophy seconds later. With no time left, Adia Pye found space down the sideline. She outran the Vikes defence and dove into the try zone for a game-winning score. Thunderbird Stadium erupted. What felt impossible had happened. Read More.

sportsSofia Campanholo with photos by Zoe Wagner and Navya Chadha
An Ottawa player in burgundy, holding the ball, is tackled by two STFX players in white and blue.
November 1

Gee-Gees run wild against St. Francis Xavier, scoring more than 50 and not allowing a try

In a dominating showing on both sides of the ball, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees beat the Saint Francis Xavier University X-Women (STFX) 55–3 on Friday at Thunderbird Stadium. Although it was not a game for glory — Ottawa put on quite a show. With their high-scoring play and impressive offensive push — they extended their season as the eighth seed, sending the fourth-seeded X-Women home. Read More.

sportsMaia Cesario with photos by Zoe Wagner
A group of T-Birds, all in white jerseys, wave to the fans after the game.
November 1

Thunderbirds win a heart-stopper against Queens on final defensive stand

For the hundreds of T-Birds fans in attendance, their hearts were in their throats. While UBC women’s rugby had played an incredible game thus far against the second-seeded Queens University Gaels, holding on to a slim 20–14 lead in the final minutes of the game — their backs were against the wall. With the Gaels on the goal line, UBC made an improbable last-second stop to go to the finals. Read More.

sportsCaleb Peterson with photos by Raul del Rosario and Sidney Shaw
A group of Gryphons in red and black push a pile of bodies towards the end zone, which is visible behind them.
October 31

Guelph uses huge first-half lead to hold off X-Women, winning 45–21

For the vast majority of the game, the matchup between the St. Francis Xavier University (STFX) X-Women and the University of Guelph Gryphons went as you might expect for a bout between two similarly-ranked teams. Yet, what blew this game wide open was a spectacular stretch in the first half for Guelph, taking advantage of a yellow card called on STFX, and, including the penalty try that was conceded as a result of the card, scoring 19 points in the 10 minutes that the X-Women were short-handed. Read More.

sportsCaleb Peterson with photos by Navya Chadha
A group of Laval players in black and red, try to run through a group of T-Birds in white.
October 30

T-Birds pull upset over higher-seeded Laval, winning 32–10 in front of home crowd

After waiting all day to see the home team play, the crowd at Thunderbird Stadium was rewarded for their patience, watching the sixth-seeded UBC Women’s Rugby team pull off an upset against the third-seeded RSEQ champion L’Université Laval Rouge et Or at the U Sports Women’s Rugby Championship. On a day where the first two seeds in the tournament were dominant, with Victoria winning by 33 and Queens by 80, the ‘Birds broke the trend, making Laval the highest seed in the tournament to lose thus far, defeating the Rouge et Or 32-10. Read More.

sportsIan Cooper with photos by Raul del Rosario
While a Vike in blue and yellow gets tackled by a Gee-Gee in burgundy, another Vike runs with the ball.
October 30

Second-half surge powers Victoria to semifinals, pulling away from Ottawa 41–8

Going into the second half in the first game of the U Sports Women’s Rugby championship, barely even an hour into the tournament, it seemed like there could be a major upset brewing. The No. 1 seed — the University of Victoria Vikes — were within striking distance, up only six. After the break, however, Victoria was a different team, going on an offensive tear, a 27–0 run in the second half. Read More.

sportsCaleb Peterson with photos by Sidney Shaw
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