Axemen cut through competition to win AAA Rugby Gold

Ryan Quigley

Journal Pioneer

The Three Oaks Senior High school Axemen cut-down the Bluefield Bobcats 15-0 on their way to win their third Prince Edward Island School Athletic Association gold medal in the last four years Monday night at Bluefield high school.

The Three Oaks squad was led by tries from Tyler Bernard in the first half and Dexter Coughlin and Kris Rice in the second half while Bluefield was held scoreless in the match.

Three Oaks coach James Voye said they knew Bluefield were going to come out hard, especially on their home pitch.

“They defended really well, I feel like we put a lot of pressure on them early in the game and we were lucky enough to score a try before half time. We had beaten them fairly handily in the regular season and I made sure that we weren’t overconfident today.”

Voye said the win was a more blue-collar effort than the other years they won.

“We won two in a row three years ago and it was a much different team, very, very skilled, not that this team isn’t, this team just had to work for it more.”

He said the program’s success mostly be attributed to the strong athletes that have played for them.

“When you get the strong athletes come out and play sports that makes a big difference.”

Bluefield coach Darryl Boudreau said he liked the fact that his team didn’t give up in the game.

“Our season was up and down but at the same time we managed to put things together at the end of the season to give us some success and give us the chance to be in the championship game.”

Boudreau said he was happy with the way his team played, some of which played with only four weeks rugby experience.

“There’s always things you can improve on as a group,” he said. “It was a much better game than 15-0.”

The Axemen and Bobcats were deadlock until late in the half when Bernard was able to get past the defense and score the try. After half time, Kris Rice got free from a scramble and ran down to complete the second try. Dexter Coughlin scored the third try to put the game away for the Axemen.

Bronze Medal Game

The Charlottetown Rural Raiders blanked the Colonel Gray Colonels 15-0 in the Men’s AAA rugby final Monday night at Bluefield high school.

The Raiders were led by two tries from Brandon Cameron and James Mallars scored a conversion and a penalty kick.

The Colonels were held scoreless in the match.