O’Neill to Make First MLR Start as Arrows Look to Bounce Back in Utah

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HERRIMAN, UT – Toronto Arrows Head Coach Peter Smith has named his starting lineup for Saturday’s clash with the Utah Warriors.

Rookie flanker James O’Neill will start for the first time in his young career, while Ueta Tufuga swaps midfield positions to cover for the injured Spencer Jones and Mitch Richardson draws in at outside centre.

Matt Hood returns to the starting lineup in place of Gaston Mieres, with the Uruguayan also landing on the injured reserve.

Dennon Robinson-Bartlett has been activated from the IR; the Kiwi, along with veteran prop Rob Brouwer, is in line to make his first appearance of the season as a substitute.

Ten players are currently listed on the injured reserve and are unavailable for selection.

Squad Notes:

• Brouwer and Robinson-Bartlett are in contention to make their season and club debuts off the bench, respectively
• Sam Malcolm is currently on 248 career points, two points off from becoming the first player in club history to hit the 250-point milestone
• Ten squad members are full Canadian internationals: Braude (8 caps), Brouwer (11 caps), Ciulini (8 caps), Keith (24 caps), Kelly (1 cap), Quattrin (13 caps), Rowland (6 caps), Rumball (43 caps), Sheppard (11 caps), Webster (5 caps)
• One additional squad member is a full international: de la Vega (12 caps; Argentina)
• Ten players are on the injured reserve and are unavailable for selection: Baillie, Brown, du Toit, Faleiva, Faust, A. Ferguson, B. Ferguson, Flesch, Jones, Mieres

The Arrows hold a 2-1 all-time record against Utah, with the Canadian outfit winning twice in 2019 – the first meeting, a 64-31 win in Utah, set the then-league record for both points scored and tries scored in a single match – before the Warriors claimed victory in Week 2 of the 2021 season.

Saturday’s game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET. The cross-conference tilt will stream on TSN.ca and the TSN App for Canadian audiences, and will be available on The Rugby Network for international audiences.

Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. Utah Warriors:

1. Cole Keith
2. Andrew Quattrin
3. Isaac Salmon
4. Mike Sheppard (C)
5. Paul Ciulini
6. Lucas Rumball
7. James O’Neill
8. Ronan Foley
9. Ross Braude
10. Sam Malcolm
11. Brock Webster
12. Ueta Tufuga
13. Mitch Richardson
14. Matt Hood
15. Conor McCann
16. Jack McRogers
17. Rob Brouwer
18. Tyler Rowland
19. Adrian Wadden
20. Tomas de la Vega
21. Chris Bell
22. Will Kelly
23. Dennon Robinson-Bartlett

About Toronto Arrows Rugby Football Club:

Established in 2018, the Toronto Arrows Rugby Football Club is Canada’s first and only 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]