Brown Scores Memorable Debut Try as Arrows Fall to New York

The Arrows’ pathway to the playoffs became a little more arduous following a 41-17 loss to Rugby New York on Sunday afternoon.

Toronto fell behind 24-7 by halftime at York Lions Stadium, stymied by New York’s defensive line speed and opened up by the visitors’ ability to spot gaps while on the attack.

The Arrows scrapped back to bring the game to within one score, rattling off 10 unanswered points after the interval to bring the match close, but New York asserted itself in the final quarter to seal the road win.

Cole Brown and Lolani Faleiva scored tries for Toronto, with the former scoring on his Major League Rugby debut and the latter notching his third try in the past two matches. Sam Malcolm added a conversion and a penalty to up his season points tally to 68.

New York exploded out of the gate at York Lions Stadium, scoring three tries ahead of the hydration break via Kalolo Tuiloma, Ed Fidow, and Jack Heighton.

The Arrows responded with a try from Brown after a quick-tap penalty by Ronan Foley opened up the New York defence. Malcolm’s conversion cut the lead to 10.

The visitors answered minutes later, finding a gap in Toronto’s defensive line through Kara Pryor, who sprung Jason Emery down the touchline. The final pass ended in the hands of Fidow, who had his brace at 23 minutes.

The Arrows came out of the sheds as the more motivated of the two sides, with Faleiva scoring under the posts in the opening stages of the second half after another athletic linebreak and offload by Foley, once again cutting the New York lead to 10 points.

Malcolm’s short-range penalty goal, slotted four minutes later, reduced the deficit to seven, though it would prove to be as close as Toronto would come to staging a comeback.

New York bumped its advantage to 29-17 when Dylan Fawsitt barged across from the back of a rolling maul at the hour mark. The visitors added another try four minutes later, with O’Connor the man to touch down following an Emery line break.

Fa’asiu Fuatai tallied the exclamation-point try just ahead of full time.

The bonus-point win vaulted Rugby New York (8-4, 42 points) past Rugby ATL (8-4, 41 points) into second place in the Eastern Conference behind leaders New England Free Jacks (11-1, 52 points). Rugby ATL fell 44-26 on Saturday evening at the Utah Warriors.

Fourth-placed Toronto (6-6; 30 points) enters Week 15 of the season with a home clash against expansion side Dallas Jackals (0-13; 4 points) on Saturday, May 14. The cross-conference meeting at York Lions Stadium will kick off at 7 p.m. ET.

Tickets are available for purchase via AXS, the official ticketing partner of the Toronto Arrows, on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. Single game tickets start as low as $15.

Toronto Arrows Stat Leaders:

Ball Carries: Lucas Rumball – 12
Carry Metres: Gaston Mieres – 106
Tackles Made: Sam Malcolm – 14
Offloads: Gaston Mieres – 5

Rugby New York Stat Leaders:

Ball Carries: Jason Emery – 16
Carry Metres: Ed Fidow – 173
Tackles Made: Nate Brakely – 20
Offloads: Brendon O’Connor – 3

Toronto Arrows Score Report:

Tries: Cole Brown (21), Lolani Faleiva (48*)
Conversions: Sam Malcolm (22)
Penalty Goals: Sam Malcolm (52)
* = seven-point try

Rugby New York Score Report:

Tries: Kalolo Tuiloma (7′), Ed Fidow 2 (11, 23), Jack Heighton (18), Dylan Fawsitt (60), Brendon O’Connor (64), Fa’asiu Fuatai (79)
Conversions: Jack Heighton 2 (12, 24), Sam Windsor (80)

Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. Rugby New York:

1. Lolani Faleiva
2. Andrew Quattrin
3. Tyler Rowland
4. Mike Sheppard (C)
5. Paul Ciulini
6. Tomas de la Vega
7. Lucas Rumball
8. Ronan Foley
9. Cole Brown
10. Sam Malcolm
11. Mitch Richardson
12. Guiseppe du Toit
13. Ueta Tufuga
14. Matt Hood
15. Gaston Mieres
16. Jack McRogers
17. Cole Keith
18. Isaac Salmon
19. Adrian Wadden
20. Siaki Vikilani
21. Sam Reimer
22. Will Kelly
23. John Sheridan

Header Photo Credit: Kyle Gilmor