Toronto Arrows Name Lineup for First Clash with Reigning MLR Champs Seattle Seawolves

16 February 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, ON – Toronto Arrows Director of Rugby Chris Silverthorn has named his starting lineup for Sunday’s away match against Seattle Seawolves.

Silverthorn has made three changes to his starting squad that defeated Austin Elite Rugby last week, which marked the club’s first Major League Rugby victory. Lock Mike Sheppard and inside centre Guiseppe du Toit have both returned from international duty with Canada at the Americas Rugby Championship, while veteran loosehead prop Tom Dolezel has earned his first start of the season.

“The guys have looked sharp in training all week, and definitely had a little extra bounce in their step after our first win last Friday,” said Silverthorn. “We’re starting to get a couple of our players back from international duty, and the squad is filling back out again. We’ve seen plenty of good competition for spots, which has helped push us during the early weeks of the season.”

The Arrows enter the match coming off their first win of the season, having earned a late come-from-behind victory over Austin (23-19) on Feb. 8.

Seattle owns a 1-2-0 record to begin its league campaign. The reigning MLR champions opened their season with a home win over the Glendale Raptors (20-18), but are looking to bounce back following consecutive away losses to the San Diego Legion (17-13) and NOLA Gold (41-31) over the past two weeks.

“We’re expecting a great atmosphere on Sunday night,” added Silverthorn. “Seattle has done a fantastic job creating a strong match day experience for its fans, and we’re looking forward to playing a good, physical game in front of a sold-out crowd. We’re planning on giving Seattle a similar experience when they come up to Toronto in April.”

Squad Notes:

• du Toit will make his MLR debut, while Wilson and Wooldridge are in contention to make their league debuts off the substitutes’ bench
• Moor is tied for the league lead in tries scored (3)
• Toronto is ranked second in the league in tries scored (8)
• Ciulini leads the team in tackles made (27)
• Nine squad members are full Canadian internationals: Ciulini (8 caps), Dolezel (16 caps), du Toit (14 caps), Ferguson (11 caps), Keith (10 caps), Moor (14 caps), Sheppard (4 caps), Wooldridge (23 caps), Wilson (1 cap)
• Thirteen players selected to the starting 15 are Canadian; lone exceptions are Malcolm (New Zealand) and Mitchell (New Zealand)
• Average squad age is 25 years old

Sunday’s game is the third 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 Starfire Stadium in Seattle, WA. 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 Quinn’s Steakhouse & Irish Bar.

Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. Seattle Seawolves

1. Tom Dolezel
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. Dan Moor (C)
12. Guiseppe du Toit
13. Spencer Jones
14. Avery Oitomen
15. Shawn Windsor
16. Steven Ng
17. Doug Wooldridge
18. Cole Keith
19. Josh Van Horne
20. Andrew Wilson
21. Riley Di Nardo
22. John Sheridan
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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