Toronto Arrows Announce Lineup for Glendale Clash

1 March 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, ON – Toronto Arrows Director of Rugby Chris Silverthorn has named his starting lineup for Saturday’s away match against the Glendale Raptors.

Silverthorn has made three changes to his starting squad that defeated the Houston SaberCats last Friday. Prop Morgan Mitchell, lock Mike Sheppard and fullback Shawn Windsor all return to the starting lineup after being unavailable for selection last week.

“We’re looking to build off of the momentum we generated in last week’s win in Houston,” said Silverthorn. “While eight of our players are still away on international duty, the depth that we have in our squad hasn’t skipped a beat. All our guys are hungry to get out there, and we’re seeing that determination and dedication each week in training. This is a long season, and to be getting strong contributions from up and down our roster helps to ensure that we won’t fade as the season goes on.”

The Arrows (2-2-0) enter the match following a victory over Houston (44-27) on Feb. 22, and sit fourth in the league standings with 12 points.

Glendale (1-2-1) head into Saturday’s home opener coming off a comeback draw with Utah (26-26) last Saturday, marking the first tie in MLR history. The Colorado outfit opened its season with away losses to Seattle (20-18) and New Orleans (40-31) before earning their first win of the season at Austin (24-13) on Feb. 17. The Raptors currently occupy fifth spot in the league table with 10 points.

“All four of our matches have been very competitive this season, and we’re expecting another close game against a Glendale side looking to leapfrog us in the standings,” added Silverthorn. “Add in the fact that the Raptors are playing their home opener, and it should make for a great atmosphere in Colorado on Saturday night. We’re looking forward to our first crack at the MLR Championship finalists.”

Squad Notes:

• Francis, Moor, and Oitomen are ranked second in the league in tries scored (3)
• Malcolm is ranked second in the league in points scored (46) and sixth in the league in goal kicking accuracy (79.2%)
• Ciulini is ranked 15th in the league in made tackles (50)
• Moor is ranked 16th in the league in running metres (243)
• Toronto is ranked second in the league in total tries scored (16)
• Seven squad members are full Canadian internationals: Brouwer (9 caps), Ciulini (8 caps), Dolezel (16 caps), Ferguson (10 caps), Moor (14 caps), Sheppard (5 caps), Wilson (1 cap)
• Thirteen players selected to the starting 15 are Canadian; exceptions are Malcolm (New Zealand) and Mitchell (New Zealand)
• Average squad age is 25 years old

Saturday’s game is the fifth 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 9 p.m. EST from Infinity Park in Glendale, CO. It can be watched live on GameTV and streamed live to Canadian and international audiences on 9news.com.

Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. Glendale Raptors

1. Rob Brouwer
2. Andrew Quattrin
3. Morgan Mitchell
4. Mike Sheppard
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. Josh Van Horne
20. Andrew Wilson
21. Riley Di Nardo
22. Jamie Leveridge
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]

Header Photo: Dave Snook

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