Madison Gold, a graduate of Vanier Secondary in Courtenay who hails from Merville, is the captain of the UBC varsity women’s rugby team. On Sunday, she scored a try to lead the Thunderbirds to an upset win, 26-24, over the Victoria Vikes.
It was the first game of the season for both teams. UVic was rated top team in the Canada West conference by the league’s coaches in a preseason poll. UBC was selected fourth.
Victoria came into the game ranked ninth in U SPORTS (formerly CIS – Canadian Interuniversity Sport). They are no longer ranked according to today’s Top 10 national poll.
The UBC win was also a huge turnaround from their meeting last year, which Victoria won 82-0.
Gold spent part of her summer playing for Canada’s U-20 national team.