SUMMERSIDE – 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.”
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At A Glance
Boys’ schedule for David Voye Memorial rugby tournament:
Teams
Pool A – Three Oaks, Cobequid Education Centre (CEC), Westisle.
Pool B – Charlottetown Rural, Montague, Hants East.
Pool C – Colonel Gray, North Nova, Avon View.
Pool D – Horton, Bluefield, Northumberland.
Thursday, May 10
5:30 p.m. – Three Oaks vs. Westisle (Canada Games).
6:30 p.m. – Montague vs. Rural (Charlottetown Rural).
Friday, May 11
1 p.m. – North Nova vs. Colonel Gray (Bus Depot).
1 p.m. – Bluefield vs. Horton (Canada Games).
2 p.m. – Westisle vs. CEC (Victoria Road).
2 p.m. – Hants East vs. Rural (Eric Johnston).
3 p.m. – Avon View vs. North Nova (Eric Johnston).
3 p.m. – Bluefield vs. Northumberland (Victoria Road).
5 p.m. – Three Oaks vs. CEC (Canada Games).
5 p.m. – Montague vs. Hants East (Bus Depot).
6 p.m. – Horton vs. Northumberland (Bus Depot).
6 p.m. – Avon View vs. Colonel Gray (Victoria Road).
Saturday, May 12
9 a.m. – Second-place Pool A vs. second-place Pool C (Victoria Road).
9 a.m. – Third-place Pool B vs. third-place Pool D (Canada Games).
9 a.m. – Second-place Pool B vs. second-place Pool D (Bus Depot).
9 a.m. – Third-place Pool A vs. third-place Pool C (Eric Johnston).
11 a.m. – Semifinal: First-place Pool B vs. first-place Pool D (Bus Depot).
11 a.m. – Semifinal: First-place Pool A vs. first-place Pool A (Canada Games).
2 p.m. – Championship game: winners of two semifinal games (Canada Games).
Players
Three Oaks Axemen’s se niorAAA rugby team roster:
Jordan Arsenault
Cole Adams
Parker Arsenault
Ethan Beaulieu
Parker Cameron
Alex Compton
Jaxon Clark
Caleb Dawson
Brandon Gillis
Blake Jurkowski
Sean Lawlor
Max MacCarville
Dylan Mugridge
Ryan Murphy
Josh Murray
Muhammad Naqvi
Devon Newberry
Brandon Nidweni
Stephen Smallwood
Dexter Stewart
Abraham Taha
Ben Tanton
Ben Thompson
Kyle Wilson.
Coaches
James Voye
Brandon Adams.
Coming Up
A story profiling the Three Oaks Axewomen and the girls’ portion of the David Voye Memorial rugby tournament will appear in Thursday’s Journal Pioneer. The Axewomen’s first game is scheduled for Friday afternoon against North Nova.
