Toronto Arrows

Toronto Arrows R.F.C. is a rugby union club based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that plays in Major League Rugby.[2] The Arrows team is an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and is funded by a group of private investors and supporters.[3] The team splits its home games between Alumni Field of York University and Lamport Stadium for its inaugural 2019 MLR season.[4]

Toronto Arrows

Full name	Toronto Arrows
Nickname(s)	Arrows
Founded	Ontario Arrows 2017–2018 Toronto Arrows 2018–present[1]
Location	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ground(s)	Alumni Field Lamport Stadium
President	Bill Webb
Coach(es)	Chris Silverthorn
Captain(s)	Dan Moor, Lucas Rumball
Top scorer	Sam Malcolm (194)
Most tries	Dan Moor (11)
League(s)	Major League Rugby
2019	3rd placed (regular season)
Official website
torontoarrows.com
Current season

History

Historical Ontario Arrows logo 2017–2018.

The team was founded as the Ontario Arrows in 2017 with the intent of joining the Major League Rugby (MLR) competition for the 2019 season.[5][6][7][8] The Arrows debuted September 9, 2017, in a match against the Glendale Merlins losing 41–7.[9]

In spring 2018, the Arrows played a six-game exhibition schedule against the Houston SaberCats, Rugby United New York, Utah Warriors, and Boston's Mystic River Rugby Club. The schedule was extended to include games against the Canada Selects.[10] The Arrows' 2018 home opener was a decided victory over the Mystic River Rugby Club.

In July 2018, the Arrows announced that MLR had granted them exclusive rights to negotiate for a franchise in Ontario.[11] In November 2018, MLR announced that the Arrows had joined the league for the 2019 season. At the same time, the Ontario Arrows changed their name to the Toronto Arrows.[12] The ownership group is led by Bill Webb, partner and chief investment officer at Waypoint Investment Partners. The ownership group also includes the former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Burke, Boat Rocker Sports (a division of Boat Rocker Media), Duncan McNaughton, an assistant coach with the Canadian women's team and the Queen's University men, Kevin Reed of AR3 Capital, and John Ferraro of Mass Marketing Inc.[13] As MLR operates as a single entity league, the ownership group purchased an equity stake in the league, at the cost of a few million dollars, and received operating rights to a franchise in the Toronto market.[13][14] The team splits its 2019 home games between Alumni Field of York University and Lamport Stadium.[4]

Broadcasts

For 2019, home games were shown on GameTV. Lincoln Rose and Kit McConnico were the on-air talent.

For 2020, TSN was announced as the Arrows broadcast partner.[15] Following the cancellation of the 2020 Major League Rugby season, TSN produced a 10-episode series, showing 60-minute highlights from chosen Arrows games, called "Arrows in an Hour."[16]

Sponsorship

Season	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2018	XBlades	Waypoint Investment Partners
2019		Honda
2020–present	Paladin Sports

Players and personnel

Current squad

The following players have been reported for Toronto for the 2020 season:[17][18]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Steven Ng Hooker Canada Jack McRogers Hooker Canada Andrew Quattrin Hooker Canada Richie Asiata Prop Australia Rob Brouwer Prop Canada Gaston Cortes Prop Argentina Cole Keith Prop Canada Pat Lynott Prop Canada Tyler Rowland Prop Canada Mike Smith Prop Canada Paul Ciulini Lock Canada Mike Sheppard Lock Canada Josh Van Horne Lock Canada Tom Van Horne Lock Canada Tomas de la Vega Flanker Argentina Peter Milazzo Flanker Canada Lucas Rumball Flanker Canada Marcello Wainwright Flanker Canada Manuel Diana Number 8 Uruguay Kolby Francis Number 8 Canada

Player Position Union Riley Di Nardo Scrum-half Canada Andrew Ferguson Scrum-half Canada Jamie MacKenzie Scrum-half Canada Dylan Young Scrum-half Canada Tayler Adams Fly-half New Zealand Sam Malcolm Fly-half New Zealand Will Kelly Fly-half Canada Guiseppe du Toit Centre Canada Spencer Jones Centre Canada Ben LeSage Centre Canada Mitch Richardson Centre Canada Leandro Leivas Wing Uruguay Dan Moor Wing Canada John Sheridan Wing Canada Gastón Mieres Wing Uruguay Shawn Windsor Fullback Canada Pat Parfrey Fullback Canada

• Internationally capped players in bold.

Coaching Staff

• Chris Silverthorn — Director of Rugby
• Aaron Carpenter — Coach
• Cory Hector — Coach
• Peter Smith — Coach

Staff

• Mark Winokur — Vice President and General Manager
• Rodin Lozada — Performance Analyst
• Sean Harrison — Strength and Conditioning Coach
• Jeff Watson — Strength and Conditioning Coach

Records

Season standings

Year	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	+/−	BP	Pts	Playoffs
2019	3rd	16	11	0	5	472	362	+110	13	57	Lost semi-final 17-30 to Seattle Seawolves
2020[lower-alpha 1]	2nd	5	4	0	1	151	89	+62	3	19	Cancelled[lower-alpha 1]
Total	2 seasons	21	15	0	6	623	451	+172	16	76
Playoff Totals	1 Appearances	1	0	0	1	17	30	-13	NA	NA	0 championships

Notes

1. 2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honors

• Major League Rugby
  • Playoff appearances: 2019

2018 season (exhibition)

All games in the 2018 season were exhibition games and did not count in the league standings.

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
March 3	Houston SaberCats	Away	Constellation Field	Draw, 28–28
March 17	Rugby United New York	Away	Mazzella Field	Lost, 19–36
April 6	Utah Warriors	Away	Rio Tinto Stadium	Won, 24–20
April 14	Rugby United New York	Home	York Alumni Stadium	Cancelled due to weather
April 21	Mystic River Rugby Club	Away	Pine Banks Park	Won, 29–19
May 5	Mystic River Rugby Club	Home	York Alumni Stadium	Won, 77–8
May 18	Canada Selects	Home	York Lions Stadium	Lost, 0–19
May 26	Canada Selects	Away	Westhills Stadium	Lost, 28–58

2019 season

Main article: 2019 Major League Rugby season

Exhibition

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
September 16, 2018	Glendale Raptors	Home	York Lions Stadium	Won, 40–18
October 20, 2018	New England Free Jacks	Home	Wanderers Grounds	Won, 40–14
January 12, 2019	Rugby United New York	Neutral	Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse	Postponed
May 18, 2019	New England Free Jacks	Away	Brophy Field at Dartmouth’s Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse	Postponed

Regular season

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
January 26	New Orleans Gold	Away	Eagle Athletic Facility	Lost, 31-36
February 8	Austin Elite	Away	Dell Diamond	Won, 23-19
February 17	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Starfire Stadium	Lost, 30-35
February 22	Houston SaberCats	Away	Aveva Stadium	Won, 44-27
March 2	Glendale Raptors	Away	Infinity Park	Lost, 0-22
March 10	San Diego Legion	Away	Torero Stadium	Won, 27-20
March 15	Rugby United New York	Away	MCU Park	Lost, 21-24
March 30	Utah Warriors	Away	Zions Bank Stadium	Won, 64–31
April 7	New Orleans Gold	Home	Alumni Field	Lost, 31–35
April 21	Houston SaberCats	Home	Alumni Field	Won, 35-21
April 28	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Alumni Field	Won, 29-7
May 5	San Diego Legion	Home	Lamport Stadium	Won, 23–19
May 9	Austin Elite	Home	Alumni Field	Won, 24–13
May 12	Utah Warriors	Home	Lamport Stadium	Won, 28–21
May 26	Glendale Raptors	Home	Lamport Stadium	Won, 40–12
June 2	Rugby United New York	Home	Lamport Stadium	Won, 22-20

Post season

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
June 9	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Starfire Sports	Loss, 17-30

2020 season

On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [19] On March 19, 2020, MLR announced that they had cancelled the season, and all remaining games for 2020. [20]

Regular season

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
February 9	Austin Gilgronis	Away	Circuit of the Americas	Won, 38-10
February 16	Houston SaberCats	Neutral	Sam Boyd Stadium	Won, 27-22
February 22	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Starfire Sports Complex	Won, 39-17
March 1	Rugby ATL	Away	Life University Running Eagles Stadium	Won, 28-18
March 6	Colorado Raptors	Away	Infinity Park	Lost, 19-22
March 22	Rugby United New York	Away	MCU Park	Cancelled
March 28	New Orleans Gold	Away	Gold Mine
April 4	Utah Warriors	Home	York Alumni Stadium
April 11	New England Free Jacks	Home	York Alumni Stadium
April 19	Rugby ATL	Home	Lamport Stadium
April 26	Old Glory DC	Away	Cardinal Stadium
May 1	New Orleans Gold	Home	Lamport Stadium
May 10	San Diego Legion	Home	Lamport Stadium
May 18	New England Free Jacks	Away	Union Point Sports Complex
May 22	Rugby United New York	Home	Lamport Stadium
May 30	Old Glory DC	Home	Lamport Stadium

References

1. "MLR Announces Additions of Toronto and Washington, D.C." usmlr.com. Major League Rugby. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
2. "Major League Rugby adds Ontario Arrows for 2019". Americas Rugby News. September 25, 2018. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
3. "Ontario Arrows: The Rise of Canada's Next-Gen High Performance Team". Aedelhard. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
4. "Toronto Arrows Announce Ticketing Details, Home Venues for 2019 Major League Rugby Season". Toronto Arrows. January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
5. "New York and Ontario in Major League Rugby talks". November 13, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
6. "Ontario Arrows to launch Elite Rugby Team in September". August 25, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
7. Davidson, Neil (September 8, 2017). "Ontario Arrows take first step toward becoming pro rugby outfit". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
8. "MLR reveals Finals Locations and Expansion Plans". March 7, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
9. "Glendale gets even with Ontario - Americas Rugby News". www.americasrugbynews.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
10. "Ontario Arrows score 12 tries in 77-8 win over Boston Mystics". djcoilrugby. May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
11. "RELEASE: Ontario Arrows Planning Major League Rugby Entry for 2019". Ontario Arrows. July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
13. "Toronto Arrows will join Major League Rugby". Toronto Star. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
14. CAMPBELL, MORGAN (December 11, 2018). "Expansion Toronto Arrows join Major League Rugby with optimism and business savvy". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
15. "Toronto Arrows Announce TSN as 2020 Media Partner". Toronto Arrows. February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
16. "Toronto Arrows Media Partner TSN to Deliver New 'Arrows in an Hour' Series". Toronto Arrows. May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
17. "Arrows re-sign 10 and add South American duo". August 1, 2019.
18. "Arrows re-sign six, add international trio". August 30, 2019.
19. "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS". Major League Rugby. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
20. "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY HAS DECIDED TO CANCEL THE REMAINDER OF THE 2020 SEASON AND TURN ATTENTION TO 2021". Major League Rugby. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.

External links

• Official website