Toronto Arrows Announce Lineup for Houston Clash

For Immediate Release

HOUSTON, TX – Toronto Arrows Director of Rugby Chris Silverthorn has named his starting lineup for tomorrow’s away clash with the Houston SaberCats.

Eighteen Canadians have been included in Toronto’s 23-man lineup, with 11 featuring in the starting 15. Will Kelly will make his first start for the club, while Spencer Jones starts for the first time since the 2019 season.

Fifteen full internationals have been named to the Arrows’ matchday squad, carrying a combined cap total of 291 matches.

Squad Notes:

• de le Vega is ranked 1st in MLR in successful tackles (120), 2nd in breakdown steals (5), 3rd in defensive ruck arrivals (58), 5th in lineout takes (31), 8th in attacking ruck arrivals (141), 8th in carries (72), 9th in lineout steals (3)
• Diana is ranked 1st in MLR in carries (113), 2nd in tackle breaks (31), 6th in carry metres (618), 6th in offloads (9)
• Rumball is ranked 1st in MLR in breakdown steals (18), 1st in attacking ruck arrivals (156), 1st in defensive ruck arrivals (77), 2nd in tackles (106), 7th in carries (74)
• Adams is ranked 2nd in MLR in points scored (77), 2nd in kicks (56), 5th in kicking metres (1,576)
• LeSage is ranked 2nd in MLR in offloads (12), 8th in linebreaks (9)
• Mieres is ranked 3rd in MLR in offloads (10), 8th in carry metres (589), 8th in linebreaks (9)
• Montero is ranked 4th in MLR in tries scored (6), 8th in linebreaks (9)
• Keith is ranked 6th in MLR in attacking ruck arrivals (142)
• Tuculet is ranked 6th in MLR in offloads (9)
• Braude is ranked 7th in MLR in kicks (44), 10th in kicking metres (1,184)
• Ten squad members are full Canadian internationals: Ciulini (8 caps), du Toit (14 caps), Ferguson (10 caps), Keith (16 caps), Kelly (1 cap), LeSage (16 caps), Parfrey (32 caps), Quattrin (5 caps), Rumball (35 caps), Sheppard (11 caps)
• Three squad members are full Argentinian internationals: Cortes (5 caps), de la Vega (12 caps), Montero (27 caps)
• Two squad members are full Uruguayan internationals: Diana (27 caps), Mieres (72 caps)

Tomorrow’s match marks the fourth league meeting between Toronto and Houston; the Arrows are undefeated against the SaberCats, beating their Texas counterparts twice in 2019 and once in the shortened 2020 season.

Houston (2-5; 13 points) is coming off a 28-26 away loss to New Orleans, while Toronto (3-5; 18 points) is fresh off a narrow 33-29 defeat to Atlanta in the Fire and Ice Cup.

Saturday’s game will kick off at 8 p.m. ET. The cross-conference tilt will air on TSN2 and stream on TSN.ca and the TSN App for Canadian audiences, and will be available on The Rugby Network for American and international audiences. Full broadcast details can be found here.

Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. Houston SaberCats

1. Pat Lynott
2. Andrew Quattrin
3. Tyler Rowland
4. Adrian Wadden
5. Paul Ciulini
6. Tomas de la Vega
7. Lucas Rumball (C)
8. Manuel Diana
9. Ross Braude
10. Will Kelly
11. Manuel Montero
12. Spencer Jones
13. Ben LeSage (C)
14. Gaston Mieres
15. Pat Parfrey
16. Jack McRogers
17. Cole Keith
18. Gaston Cortes
19. Mike Sheppard
20. Kolby Francis
21. Andrew Ferguson
22. Guiseppe du Toit
23. Mitch Richardson

About Toronto Arrows Rugby Football Club:

The Toronto Arrows Rugby Football Club is Canada’s first professional rugby union team.

Competing in Major League Rugby, the team is equipped to compete against top-tier North American professional club teams, providing emerging Canadian talent with enhanced and more frequent opportunities to hone their skills at an elite level.

For more information, visit https://torontoarrows.com/

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For more information, please contact:

Brock Smith
Communications Manager
Toronto Arrows
[email protected]

Header Photo Credit: Connie Hatfield