"This was a great club day; we had 30-plus kids and dads playing community touch, then two great efforts from our guys," said head coach Keith Reeves in a news release.
It was a rugby extravaganza on Sept. 11 in Brennan Park.That morning started with a game of community touch, followed by matches where the Axemen's 1st and third division teams played their first games since COVID-19 closed most sports down — and it was quite a celebration.
The third division team was a mixture of young and old ranging in ages from 16 to 44, and under difficult circumstances showed brilliant commitment in going down 17-0 and 12-5 to Vancouver teams Kats and Rowing Club, Ed Harrison bagging their only try.
The main event was a full-blown 80-minute exhibition game against the Rowers' Premiership team, and the Axemen emerged victorious with a score of 26-12.
B.C. representative full back Blake Mahovic got the ball rolling with a 70-metre run, but the Rowers soon levelled to make it 7-7 at the break.
However, the Axemen's fitness began to tip the scales.
Short-range tries from Jeff Nugent and skipper Neil Irwin gave them an unassailable lead, while a-70 metre interception try from assistant coach Steve List was the icing on the cake.Nugent added three conversions.
"For me the most pleasing thing was how after an 18-month lay off we came back as a club looking stronger. I was quite emotional, and consequently gave my shortest team talk ever," said Reeves in the release."The Axemen are back."
**Please note, this story has been corrected since it was first posted. The Chief was originally given incorrect scores.
