LONDON, Ont. -- The Western Mustangs men's rugby team completed a perfect season last Saturday (March 3), when they defeated the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 19-14 to win the second annual National University 7's Championship at City Centre Park in Langford, BC.

Following up an undefeated 15's season and an OUA Gold Medal last November, the Mustangs continued their dominance at the 2012 National 7's Championships, going 5-0-1 in the tournament en route to winning the title.

In the finals, Western was led by local Victoria native Andrew Crow, who was awarded ‘Man of the Match’. Tournament MVP was awarded to first-year player Mike Turnbull after he impressed the crowd and fellow athletes throughout the championships. The award continued Turnbull’s impressive debut year with the Mustangs, which included winning the OUA’s all around player during the 15's season.

On the first day of the tournament, the Western squad came out with a huge win over Humber college, setting the tone of the day with a 36-0 win. The Mustangs then played the University of Calgary in one of the more exciting matches of the day. Calgary trailed by 10 before pulling off a thrilling comeback at the end of the first half. They continued to surprise by applying pressure throughout the second half and almost took the lead late in the match. However, Western was able to stave them off and earn an entertaining 10-10 tie.

Lucky to escape without a loss against Calgary, the Western team rallied and won their final match of day one against the University of Regina by a lopsided margin of 45-0.

In the quarterfinals, the Mustangs faced Mount Royal University, which featured two capped Canadian 7’s players. The Western squad grinded out a hard-fought defensive battle and won 14-0 to advance to the semi-final, which featured a rematch of the 2011 cup final against the University of Victoria.

It was a close match between two rugby powerhouses, but the semi-final was never in doubt. The Mustangs stifled the University of Victoria’s offensive plans, and set the pace of the game with their free-flowing style.  Despite a last-minute try by UVic, Western held on for a 26-18 win and a shot at redemption in the finals.

With files from Rugby Canada