UPEI to host championship match for first time
By Corey LeBlanc
UPEI and STFX will clash for the AUS women's rugby title.
The defending conference champion Panthers will host the X-Women in the 2023 AUS Women's Rugby Championship, presented on Bell, on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
Kick-off is set for 2 p.m. ADT in Charlottetown.
The Panthers secured home field advantage by finishing first in the AUS regular season with a 5-1 record.
UPEI head coach James Voye described having the top finishers in the regular season – the X-Women were second at 4-1-1 – play for the championship as a "bit fitting."
In the lead-up to the match, he said the Panthers will focus greatly on defense and structure in practice, including team line speed and tackle height.
Voye explained that "containing" the X-Women's "hard running" four pack – one that is complimented by centers and backs with similar skills – will be crucial; preventing them from "generating line breaks."
"If we do that, I think that we will be in good shape," he offered.
Voye noted the Panthers will have "to lean on our forwards."
In order to secure the victory, he said, the Panthers will need "impact" efforts from flanker Emma MacLean (Cole Harbour, NS) prop Emily Duffy (Summerside, PE) and fly-half Paige MacLean (Summerside, PE); not to mention scrum half Mia Fradsham (Marshfield, PE), who Voye noted brings a "calmness" to her team on the pitch, and center Ria Johnston (Charlottetown, PE), who "can score from anywhere on the field."
During the regular season, the USPORTS #9-ranked Panthers and #10 X-Women split two matches, with STFX winning 43-26 on Sept. 23, and UPEI triumphing 25-22 on Oct. 13.
"It is going to be a challenge, but we know that we can do it," veteran X-Women head coach Mike Cavanagh said.
He noted, "UPEI is such a tough team to play at home," adding that the road trip to Charlottetown always presents a tremendous test for his X-Women.
"We didn't finish the job," he said of the late-season, three-point setback at home, while crediting the Panthers for scoring a pair of converted trys in the final four minutes of the match.
That razor-thin loss cements the idea that the X-Women, according to Cavanagh, need to play 80 minutes in order to have a chance to secure an AUS banner on the road.
"We have to be physical, and we have to play the open style rugby – moving the ball – that has worked for us all season," he said.
Noting that they are "relatively healthy" and "moving in the right direction," Cavanagh offered that his X-Women are "looking forward to the opportunity."
He noted that the X-Women will rely on a "strong veteran core," including captains centre Kat Culligan (Halifax, NS) and 2nd row Sophie Beck (Fall River, NS), in the championship match; not to mention experienced student-athletes; back row Skye Coyote (Duncan, BC), prop Emma MacDougall (Halifax, NS), fullback Katie Douglas (Charlottetown, PE) and Camryn Kleinhans (Wellington, ON).
Offensively, Cavanagh noted, the White and Blue will turn to sophomores, including multi-position player Sierra Wood (Stirling, ON), centre Emily Dodge (Fall River, NS), scrum half/winger Katie Murphy (Millville, PE) and centre Jill Griffith (Upper Tantallon, NS).
"We are also very excited about some of our first-year players," the veteran X-Women bench boss said of 2nd-lock Akwaima Akpan (Halifax, NS), prop Jessie Penney (Clarke's Beach, NL), back row Shona Galloway (Upper Tantallon, NS), 2nd row-back row Kate Childs (Halifax, NS) and scrum half Drew Bell (Ajax, ON).
In the conference semi-final match, the second-place X-Women punched their ticket to the championship contest with a 29-21 victory over the third-place Axewomen (2-3-1) on Oct. 19 at STFX Stadium.
In the hard fought match-up, one that the White and Blue led 12-7 at halftime, Kleynhans – a junior flanker – notched a try in each half to lead the STFX attack. Her first score gave the home team a 12-7 late in the first half, an edge they would not relinquish.
Beck was named the player of the game for the X-Women.
As for playing the AUS title game at UPEI for the first time, Voye said, "It is special in that way – super important to us."
Beyond the history-making element, he explained – even though the X-Women won their regular season match-up in Charlottetown – the Panthers are more comfortable on their home pitch, while noting their preference for playing on grass.
"We are fairly confident [at home], but we know that we will have to be at our best playing STFX," Voye said.
The Panthers and X-Women – as the top two teams in the AUS – and regardless of who wins the conference banner, advance to the USPORTS national championship tournament, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 1 to Sunday, Nov. 5, hosted by Université de Laval Rouge et Or.
You can watch the AUS championship match online at AUStv.ca.