Arrows Announce Lineup for Crucial Midweek Clash with Free Jacks

News May-18-2022

Arrows Announce Lineup for Crucial Midweek Clash with Free Jacks

May 19 Update: Mitch Richardson is a late injury scratch.

Corresponding Lineup Adjustments: Tufuga shifts to #13, du Toit starts at #12, Voralek promoted to #23.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, ON – Toronto Arrows Head Coach Peter Smith has named his starting lineup for Thursday’s home match against the New England Free Jacks.

With the team in the final stages of a stretch of three matches across a 12-day span, Smith has continued to ring in changes to his matchday 23 given the short rest period: there are 10 positional swaps from the lineup that started against Dallas four days ago.

Wholesale changes across the front and back rows have been made, with fresh trios of Keith–Quattrin–Salmon and Baillie–Foley–Rumball called upon to start the crucial clash.

Captain Mike Sheppard and Sam Malcolm have also been reinstated to the starting ranks after being rested in Week 15.

Tack on a new midfield combo for Toronto as well, with Ueta Tufuga and Mitch Richardson tabbed to start; the former began last week’s match on the bench, while the latter has been activated off the injured reserve.

Marcello Wainwright has also recovered from his upper-body injury and will look to make an impact off the bench.

Ten 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
Rumball is third in the league in defending breakdown arrivals (99)
Ciulini is fourth in the league in attacking breakdown arrivals (281)
Malcolm is fifth in the league in goals (27); sixth in the league in points scored (68)
Quattrin is fifth in the league in carries (129)
Sheppard is fifth in the league in attacking breakdown arrivals (263); ninth in the league in carries (116)
Ten squad members are full Canadian internationals: Baillie (34 caps), Braude (8 caps), Ciulini (8 caps), du Toit (14 caps), Keith (24 caps), Kelly (1 cap), Quattrin (13 caps), Rowland (6 caps), Rumball (43 caps), Sheppard (11 caps)
One additional squad member is a full internationals: Mieres (78 caps; Uruguay)
Ten players are on the injured reserve and are unavailable for selection: Bell, Brown, de la Vega, Faust, A. Ferguson, B. Ferguson, Flesch, Jones, Robinson-Bartlett, Vikilani

The Arrows have yet to defeat the Free Jacks in MLR play, with Toronto holding a 0-3 all-time record against New England. The Arrows narrowly fell to the Bostonians in snowy conditions earlier this season, as well as suffering two defeats in 2021.

This match also marks just the second time the Arrows have played on a Thursday; the first occasion saw a 29-13 Toronto home victory over the then-Austin Elite on May 9, 2019.

Thursday’s game will kick off at 7 p.m. ET at York Lions Stadium, with tickets starting at $15.

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The Eastern Conference tilt will feature on TSN2 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. New England Free Jacks:

Cole Keith
Andrew Quattrin
Isaac Salmon
Adrian Wadden
Mike Sheppard (C)
Kyle Baillie
Lucas Rumball
Ronan Foley
Ross Braude
Sam Malcolm
John Sheridan
Ueta Tufuga
Mitch Richardson
Matt Hood
Gaston Mieres
Jack McRogers
Lolani Faleiva
Tyler Rowland
Paul Ciulini
Marcello Wainwright
Sam Reimer
Will Kelly
Guiseppe du Toit

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: Tek Ang