When they play

After a four-week break, the Charlottetown Rugby Football Club is anxious for some pitch time.

And that wish gets fulfilled when the CRFC (3-0) host Valley (1-1) in a Nova Scotia Senior Rugby League women’s Tier A game Saturday in Charlottetown.

Game time is 3:30 p.m. at Co-op Field, and CRFC’s Rebecca Chapman said her squad is set to square off against the Bulldogs.

“We’re as healthy as we were at the beginning of the season and ready to go. The long break was a bit of a momentum breaker, however we were able to rest a few bodies and practise some skills, so hopefully that comes through,” Chapman said in an email interview. “The Valley has some strong backthree players, so they’ll likely be looking to spin it out wide and go around us. But I think it’s a challenge that our backs can meet head on and overcome.” Nova Scotia senior rugby action today for the Hunter’s Ale House P.E.I. Mudmen and the Charlottetown Rugby Football Club.

1 p.m. - Eastern Shore at P.E.I., Men’s B Division, Co-op Field

2:30 p.m. - Rookie Rugby jamboree, Co-op Field

3 p.m. - P.E.I. at Windsor, Men’s A Division

3:30 p.m. - Valley at CRFC, women’s Tier A, Co-op Field

The game is part of three senior games on the day, which starts when the Mudmen B Division team (1-0) hosts Eastern Shore (0-1) at 1 p.m. at Co-op.

Meanwhile, the Mudmen’s A Division team squad (1-0) travels to Nova Scotia to face Windsor (0-1) at 3 p.m.

Phil Gallant, longtime Mudmen player and organizer, likes how P.E.I. is faring so far, and Windsor will be a challenge.

“The team is playing well a month in. Still working on chemistry and continuity with new guys in positions, but we have a lot of talent. The club is working really hard on improving on our defence and aggression. We have always been strong at putting up points, but in every sport defence wins

championships. We spent time this spring with Paul Abel at Wolfrun MMA trying to improve our aggression, and we are seeing the results on the field,” said Gallant in an email interview. “Windsor is a young, fast and fit team. Their speed is very noticeable, but we hope being a veteran team that ball retention and smart decisions will give us the edge.”

The B Division team, led by captain and flanker Sylvain Duguay, goes into its first action of the season. Its lone win came from a Halifax Tars forfeit two weeks ago.

A long layoff has been challenging, said Duguay, but it shows a lot that the guys have still kept a strong work ethic the whole time. He said speed will

fuel the Mudmen attack.

Innis Wheatley and Barrington Duffy, graduates from the Charlottetown Rural Raiders’ program, don the Mudmen jersey for the first time, and veterans Blake Doyle and Steve Farmer should put in solid minutes against a young and speedy Eastern Shore team.

Also a Rookie Rugby jamboree goes, at 2:30 p.m., at Co-op showcasing the youth who practice every Tuesday night in the club’s program for players four to 12-years-old.

The CRFC is inviting older female P.E.I. players to the women’s game, and a reception afterward at The Factory.