Voye-ing for title
Axemen face Wolverines in opening game
The Three Oaks Axemen will be playing before hometown fans this week as they host the 22nd annual David Voye Memorial rugby tournament at the Summerside high school.
The Three Oaks Axemen are looking forward to the opportunity to play before their hometown fans this week.
The Axemen will host the 22nd annual David Voye Memorial rugby tournament at the Summerside high school. The opening game of the 28-team event – 16 girls and 12 boys – will feature the Axemen taking on the Westisle Wolverines in an all-Prince County clash at the Canada Games pitch on the grounds of Three Oaks Senior High School on Thursday at 5 p.m. Play continues through until the championship games early Saturday afternoon.
“It’s good to play in front of our fans,” said Jordan Arsenault, a Grade 12 scrum half with the Axemen. “It’s a big tournament, and we always get a lot of people who come out to watch.” The Axemen, who are the defending P.E.I. School Athletic Association Senior AAA Boys Rugby League champions, conclude pool play against Cobequid Education Centre on Friday at 5 p.m.
The boys’ teams are divided into four three-team pools, and the first-place teams will meet in Saturday morning’s semifinals while the other teams will play placing games.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” said longtime Axemen head coach James Voye, the son of the late David Voye, who was a driving force behind the development of the senior rugby program at Three Oaks. “Every year they get a little bit more special because I’ve been involved with the program for over 20 years myself.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the kids develop, and how hard they work to try and achieve their goal. That’s hopefully to get into that final on Saturday.”
The Axemen recently advanced to the championship game of the Rothesay Netherwood School’s RugbyFest, where they dropped a 22-7 decision to Crescent School, a private school from Toronto.
“It was a real hard-fought game,” reflected Voye. “They scored a couple of trys late, but I was happy with our performance.
“We went in with a defensive plan to keep them from scoring points, and I thought the boys did a good job doing that.”
Voye said the opportunity to play teams from away at tournaments is a great learning tool.
“That was what was really nice at RugbyFest this year,” said Voye.
“We had been running into some Island teams over there, and when you travel you really want to play those teams from away.
“To have the opportunity to play a prep school from Toronto was awesome, and the boys learned a lot from it as well.”
This is Arsenault’s second year playing in the Voye tournament. “We have a good chance to go for it,” said the 18-year-old Arsenault, who’s from St. Nicholas. “If we play strong and play the way we can play, we can compete with any team that is in there.”
Roster
The 2018 Axemen feature a mixture of Grade 11s and 12s, with one Grade 10 player.
“I try to pick my squad that way each year so I have some experience coming back,” explained Voye. “We did take one Grade 10 player this year, and his name is Ryan Murphy. . . He’s been a great addition to the team. He’s working really hard, and he’s finding himself some playing time as well.”
Arsenault, who also plays on the provincial under-18 squad, likes what he’s seen early in the campaign.
“We have a good core of returning players from last year, and we have a lot of new players who complete the roster,” he added.
When asked about his team’s playing style, Voye said he likes the mix of backs and forwards.
“I feel our back line is quite strong this year,” continued Voye.
“Probably the biggest compliment they can get from me is they pass the ball really well and stretch the field with their pass, which allows us to play a wide game.”
Arsenault described rugby as a team game.
“The philosophy is one that attacks,” said Arsenault. “You need every player to play their role to get the win.”