Silverthorn Makes Seven Changes to Arrows Starting Lineup for Austin Clash

7 February 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, ON – Toronto Arrows Director of Rugby Chris Silverthorn has named his starting lineup for Friday’s away match against Austin Elite Rugby.

With several roster players currently on international duty and unavailable for selection for the clash, Silverthorn has made seven changes to his starting squad. Kolby Francis, Morgan Mitchell, Avery Oitomen, John Sheridan, Josh Van Horne, Marcello Wainwright, and Shawn Windsor have all been selected to start the match against Austin.

“We’re proud to have seven of our guys with the Canadian national team right now, and two more with Uruguay,” said Silverthorn. “We knew that we were going to lose guys to their national teams throughout the Americas Rugby Championship, and while they leave big shoes to fill, we feel really good about our squad depth. We’ve had plenty of good competition for spots, with guys putting their hands up and showing they’re ready to step in when needed.”

The Arrows enter the match coming off a bye week, which followed a narrow 36-31 loss to the NOLA Gold in the club’s season opener on Jan. 26.

Austin is winless to begin its season, falling 21-20 to Houston and 17-9 to Utah in its first two matches of the season.

“Coming off the bye week, we can’t wait to get back on the pitch,” added Silverthorn. “We know Austin will be hungry for this one, especially having been involved in two close games these past two weeks, but we’ll be coming to Texas ready for physical match. Our guys have put in some great work in training, and are ready to build off our performance in New Orleans.”

Squad Notes:

– Sheridan and J. Van Horne will make their MLR debuts, while Lynott, Richardson, Smith, and T. Van Horne are in contention to make their MLR debuts off the substitutes’ bench

– Five squad members are full Canadian internationals: Brouwer (9 caps), Ciulini (8 caps), Dolezel (16 caps), Ferguson (11 caps), Moor (14 caps)

– Thirteen players selected to the starting 15 are Canadian; lone exceptions are Malcolm (New Zealand) and Mitchell (New Zealand)

– Six squad members are Canada Under-20 program grads: Ciulini (2015), Ferguson (2011, 2012), Milazzo (2016), Ng (2017), Quattrin (2016), Richardson (2016)

– Average squad age is 24 years old

Friday’s game is the second of eight consecutive away matches for Canada’s first professional rugby union team. Toronto’s extended road trip will be followed by eight consecutive home matches between April 7 and June 2 to close out the club’s regular season.

The match kicks off at 8 p.m. EST from Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX. It can be watched live on GameTV, streamed live through the Arrows’ Facebook page, and enjoyed amongst Arrows fans at the club’s official watch party held at Toronto’s Irish Embassy Pub & Grill.

Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. Austin Elite Rugby

1. Rob Brouwer
2. Andrew Quattrin
3. Morgan Mitchell
4. Josh Van Horne
5. Paul Ciulini
6. Peter Milazzo
7. Marcello Wainwright
8. Kolby Francis
9. Andrew Ferguson
10. Sam Malcolm
11. John Sheridan
12. Spencer Jones
13. Dan Moor (C)
14. Avery Oitomen
15. Shawn Windsor
16. Steven Ng
17. Pat Lynott
18. Tom Dolezel
19. Tom Van Horne
20. Mike Smith
21. Riley Di Nardo
22. Mitch Richardson
23. Jack Evans

STAFF
Vice President & General Manager: Mark Winokur
Director of Rugby: Chris Silverthorn
Coaches: Aaron Carpenter, Cory Hector, Peter Smith
Performance Analyst: Rodin Lozada
Team Physicians: Dr. Anthony Dixon, Dr. Chris Gallimore, Dr. John Gillis
Athletic Therapist: Perry Fan

About Toronto Arrows Rugby Club:

The Toronto Arrows Rugby Club is Canada’s first professional rugby union team.

Competing in Major League Rugby, the team is equipped to compete against top-tier North American 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]

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