SEASON PREVIEW: Women’s Rugby Panthers aim to close gap between them and conference’s best

By Thomas Becker

When it comes to the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) standings, fourth-year rugby player Nicole Davies said it best: "It's time to shake things up." 

For the first time in a decade, UPEI's Women's Rugby team is looking to finish the regular season above third place, and in an attempt to do so, UPEI's top brass promoted long-time assistant coach James Voye to head coach. 

St. FX and Acadia's dominance of the four-team conference has been well documented over the years, but Voye and his team are doing everything they can to join the conversation.

"My goal is for the Panthers to play an exciting brand of team rugby, moving the ball at a quick tempo on the attack and forcing the opposition to work extremely hard on defence," Voye said. 

The key phrase there is moving the ball at a quick tempo on the attack. The Panthers know they can match anyone physically. Whether they're engaged in a ruck or a scrum, the Panthers fear no one and often come away with the ball in those situations. It's what they do with it afterwards that has caused problems in the past. Too often, UPEI struggled to get the ball to the wings quickly and efficiently where they could use their speed to penetrate through the defence and put up scores. 

While Voye addressed that issue in the last two offseasons by recruiting dynamic athletes Emma MacLean, Charlotte Branchflower, and Emily McKenna, the team has spent the past two years working hard on technical skills, resulting in a noticeable improvement in the open field. Voye credits the team for buying into the new culture he has set, which revolves around a balanced high-performance program that focuses on many areas, including technical and tactical skills.

"The team committing to these skill sessions has really allowed me to focus on key areas we need to be successful," he said. "Being able to execute accurate spin passes in open field play and offload the ball in contact with efficiency takes a lot of practice outside of a regular training session. I believe we've improved in that area immensely."

That's encouraging news to Davies, who looks to compete in a championship game for the first time as a Panther. However, the biggest difference she's noticed with Voye at the helm is the team's overall organization and strategy heading into matches. 

"Without giving too much away, we're looking to play a more dynamic game while maintaining the physical style of rugby the Panthers are known for."

This new mindset and approach to the game has given the team and its veterans a quiet confidence, and it showed in their only exhibition game when they took down the Concordia Stingers 26-19 last Thursday. Fourth-year flanker Brinten Comeau said the team has grown a lot since they last played a regular season game at MacAdam Field and are ready to put what they've learned to the test.

"I hope this is the year we close the gap between St. FX and Acadia," Comeau said. "We've shown tremendous potential and dedication, and we're excited to get back to playing against the best." 

After two gruelling years, fans will finally get a chance to see what this team is made of and all the work they put in when they face the defending champion St. FX X-Women on Sept. 11.

"We're quite anxious to test ourselves against the other AUS universities," Voye said. "We understand that we need to continue to do more than everyone else to reach our goals."

**Home Opener: Saturday, Sept. 11 / 2PM vs. St. FX