Arrows Lineup Announced for First MLR Match in Toronto in 1,035 Days

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, ON – Toronto Arrows Head Coach Peter Smith has named his starting lineup for Saturday’s home opener against Rugby ATL, representing the club’s first lineup announcement for a Toronto-based MLR match in 1,035 days.

Chris Bell and Guiseppe du Toit draw in at scrum-half and inside centre, respectively, and Ueta Tufuga shifts to outside centre to cover for the injured Ross Braude and Dennon Robinson-Bartlett.

Conor McCann has been activated from the injured reserve and jumps right back into the #15 shirt; Brock Webster, who started at full-back last week, has completed his short-term contract with the club and is headed back to the national sevens program ahead of the World Rugby Sevens Series restart. Kyle Baillie also returns to the lineup, and could see action off the bench.

The forwards remain intact from the pack that started last week’s victory against New York, while Marcello Wainwright is in contention to make his first appearance of the season as a substitute.

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

Squad Notes:

• Wainwright is in contention to make his season debut off the bench
• Bell and du Toit will make their first starts of the season
• Ten squad members are full Canadian internationals: Baillie (34 caps), Ciulini (8 caps), du Toit (14 caps), Keith (24 caps), Kelly (1 cap), Nott (2 caps), Quattrin (13 caps), Rowland (6 caps), Rumball (43 caps), Sheppard (11 caps)
• Thirteen players are on the injured reserve and are unavailable for selection: Braude, Brouwer, Brown, de la Vega, Faust, A. Ferguson, B. Ferguson, Flesch, Hood, Jones, Mieres, Robinson-Bartlett, Wadden

The Arrows (4-3; 19 points) hold a 1-2 all-time record against Rugby ATL (5-2; 26 points), with Toronto claiming the lone meeting in 2020 before the American outfit earned two victories over the displaced Canadians in 2021.

Saturday’s game will kick off at 12 p.m. ET at York Lions Stadium, with tickets starting at $15.

The Eastern Conference tilt will feature on TSN4 and 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. Rugby ATL:

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. Chris Bell
10. Sam Malcolm
11. Mitch Richardson
12. Guiseppe du Toit
13. Ueta Tufuga
14. John Sheridan
15. Conor McCann
16. Jack McRogers
17. Lolani Faleiva
18. Tyler Rowland
19. Kyle Baillie
20. Ollie Nott
21. Mitch Voralek
22. Will Kelly
23. Marcello Wainwright

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]

Header Photo Credit: Alexander Wohl