Toronto Arrows Announce Lineup for RUNY Clash

For Immediate Release

MARIETTA, GA – Toronto Arrows Director of Rugby Chris Silverthorn has named his starting lineup for tomorrow’s ‘home’ clash with Rugby United New York at Life University.

Silverthorn has made 10 changes to his starting lineup from Week 14; with nine Canadians set to depart for international duty on Sunday, an additional three Uruguayans already called up to join Los Teros, several players declared fit after recovering from injuries, and six new signings having recently arrived at Toronto’s Georgia-based camp, the Arrows’ selection pool has been radically altered compared to this point last week.

Guiseppe du Toit has been named Toronto’s captain for Saturday’s match, marking the first time the Maple Ridge, BC native has been selected to lead his side out. The centre will be the fifth player to captain the Arrows in a MLR match, joining Lucas Rumball, Dan Moor, Sam Malcolm, and Ben LeSage. 22-year-old hooker Jack McRogers will serve as vice captain.

Sixteen Canadians have been included in Toronto’s 23-man lineup, with 11 featuring in the starting 15. No. 8 Ronan Foley will make his first start for the club after debuting last weekend, while new signings Joe Tomlinson and Ollie Nott, along with 19-year-old Kobe Faust, are in contention for their first caps off the bench. Arrows all-time leading point scorer Sam Malcolm also stands to make his first appearance in blue in white since last year’s shortened season.

Eleven full internationals have been named to the Arrows’ matchday squad, carrying a combined cap total of 146 matches.

Squad Notes:

• Adams is ranked 2nd in MLR in points (92), 8th in kicking accuracy (75.0%)
• de la Vega is ranked 3rd in MLR in defensive ruck arrivals (84), 4th in breakdown steals (8), 5th in tackles (147), 8th in lineout takes (47)
• Ciulini is ranked 8th in MLR in lineout steals (5)
• Tuculet is ranked 10th in MLR in offloads (11)
• Eight squad members are full Canadian internationals: Brouwer (11 caps), Ciulini (8 caps), du Toit (14 caps), Ferguson (10 caps), Keith (16 caps), Kelly (1 cap), Nott (2 caps),  Sheppard (11 caps)
• Three squad members are full Argentinian internationals: Cortes (5 caps), de la Vega (12 caps), Tuculet (56 caps)

Tomorrow’s match marks the fourth league meeting between Toronto and New York. The Arrows defeated RUNY 53-12 earlier this season after splitting the spoils in 2019.

New York (8-4; 41 points) is coming off a narrow 29-28 home loss to Utah, while the Arrows (4-9; 24 points) are looking to bounce back after a 18-12 ‘home’ loss to NOLA.

Saturday’s game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Eastern Conference tilt will air on TSN2 / 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. Rugby United New York

1. Rob Brouwer
2. Jack McRogers
3. Tyler Rowland
4. Adrian Wadden
5. Mike Sheppard
6. Mason Flesch
7. Tomas de la Vega
8. Ronan Foley
9. Jason Higgins
10. Will Kelly
11. John Sheridan
12. Guiseppe du Toit (C)
13. Mitch Richardson
14. Joaquin Tuculet
15. Tayler Adams
16. Joe Tomlinson
17. Cole Keith
18. Gaston Cortes
19. Paul Ciulini
20. Ollie Nott
21. Kobe Faust
22. Andrew Ferguson
23. Sam Malcolm

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/

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Brock Smith
Communications Manager
Toronto Arrows
[email protected]

Header Photo Credit: coolrugbyphotos