Sheppard In Line For 50th Cap as Arrows Travel to DC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LEESBURG, VA – Toronto Arrows Head Coach Peter Smith has named his starting lineup for Saturday’s away match against Old Glory DC.

Smith’s charges will have a very similar look to the group that started Week 4’s victory over Chicago.

There’s one personnel change across the starting forwards, with Mike Sheppard drawing in at lock as Mason Flesch shifts from the second row to the back row in place of the injured Travis Larsen.

Sheppard is notably set to become the second Arrow to reach a half-century of appearances with the club; it will also bring the vice captain level with Paul Ciulini for the most caps in franchise history.

The starting backs also feature a lone week-over-week alteration, with Fabian Goodall tabbed to kick off the match on the wing.

Toronto holds a 4-1 all-time record against DC and is 2-0 in previous visits to Segra Field; the Arrows swept the season series in 2021, and followed that up with a 2-1 record against Old Glory in 2022.

Saturday’s game will kick off at 7 p.m. ET. The cross-conference tilt will stream on TSN+, TSN.ca, the TSN app, and The Rugby Network for Canadian audiences, will be broadcast nationally on FS2 for American audiences, and will be available on The Rugby Network for international audiences. Additional broadcast details.

Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. Old Glory DC:

1. Lolani Faleiva
2. Ramon Ayarza [wearing #17]
3. Tyler Rowland
4. Mike Sheppard (VC)
5. Adrian Wadden
6. Mason Flesch
7. Lucas Rumball (C)
8. Mitch Eadie
9. Ross Braude
10. Sam Malcolm (VC)
11. Mitch Richardson [wearing #14]
12. Noel Reid
13. Tautalatasi Tasi
14. Fabian Goodall [wearing no number]
15. Ciaran Breen
16. Jack McRogers
17. Nik Hildebrand [wearing #2]
18. Conan O’Donnell
19. Owain Ruttan
20. James O’Neill
21. Will Grant
22. Kobe Faust
23. Avery Oitomen

Injury / Recovery List: Nic Benn, Cole Davis, Travis Larsen, Shane O’Leary, Isaac Salmon, Corey Thomas, Micaiah Torrance-Read

SQUAD NOTES:

• Owain Ruttan stands to make his Arrows debut off the bench
• Seven squad members are full Canadian internationals: Ross Braude (12 caps), Mason Flesch (2 caps), Jack McRogers (1 cap), Tyler Rowland (9 caps), Lucas Rumball (47 caps), Owain Ruttan (1 cap), Mike Sheppard (11 caps)
• Ramon Ayarza (12 caps) is a full Chilean international
• Noel Reid (1 cap) is a full Irish international

WEEK 5 MILESTONE WATCH:

• 50 – Mike Sheppard is poised to earn his 50th cap, becoming the second Arrow to reach a half-century of appearances with the club; it will also tie him for most appearances in franchise history (joining Paul Ciulini)
• 40 – Sam Malcolm is poised to earn his 40th cap, becoming the 6th Arrow to reach this career milestone
• 30 – Mitch Richardson is poised to earn his 30th cap, becoming the 14th Arrow to reach this career milestone
• 25 – Ross Braude is poised to earn his 25th cap, becoming the 17th Arrow to reach this career milestone
• 1,500 – Ross Braude is 12 minutes away from reaching 1,500 in his MLR career
• 1,000 – Tyler Rowland is five minutes away from reaching 1,000 in his MLR career

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: Ben Weitz