Toronto Arrows Name Lineup to Face Houston SaberCats

21 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 the Houston SaberCats.

Silverthorn has made four changes to his starting squad that narrowly fell to the Seattle Seawolves last Sunday. Prop Rob Brouwer, fullback Jack Evans, wing John Sheridan, and lock Josh Van Horne all return to the starting lineup, while four additional players are in contention to make their league debuts off the bench.

“Friday’s match will be a tight turnaround after playing on Sunday night, but this is where our squad depth and all our pre-season training will be called to action,” said Silverthorn. “We have seven of our guys away on international duty with Canada, but our Uruguayan duo has arrived and are in the mix, and they’re eager to make an instant impact. Gaston and Leandro have fit in quite well with our group, and have brought a lot to the team in the short time they’ve been with us since coming up from the Uruguayan national team.”

The Arrows (1-2-0) enter the match on just four days’ rest following a tight loss to the reigning MLR champions (35-30) on Feb. 17.

Houston (1-1-0) head into Friday’s home opener coming off a bye week. The Texas outfit opened its season with an away win over cross-state rivals Austin Elite Rugby (21-20) on Jan. 26, but dropped a close contest to San Diego (17-13) on Feb. 9.

“We’re looking forward to playing in front of a boisterous crowd for Houston’s home opener,” added Silverthorn. “The atmosphere was great when we travelled down to Houston for our exhibition match last spring, and it should be even better on Friday. The SaberCats play a strong, physical style of rugby, and will be a tough test for us as we hit the mid-point of our eight-game road trip.”

Squad Notes:

• Leivas, Lynott, Mieres, and Smith are in contention to make their league debuts off the substitutes’ bench
• Moor is tied for the league lead in tries scored (3)
• Malcolm is ranked fifth in the league in points scored (27)
• Ciulini is ranked 13th in the league in made tackles (46)
• Toronto is tied for second in the league in total tries scored (11)
• Six squad members are full Canadian internationals: Brouwer (9 caps), Ciulini (8 caps), Dolezel (16 caps), Ferguson (10 caps), Moor (14 caps), Wilson (1 cap)
• Two squad members are full Uruguayan internationals: Leivas (72 caps), Mieres (63 caps)
• Fourteen players selected to the starting 15 are Canadian; lone exception is Malcolm (New Zealand)
• Average squad age is 25 years old

Friday’s game is the fourth 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 Constellation Field in Sugar Land, 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. Houston SaberCats

1. Rob Brouwer
2. Andrew Quattrin
3. Tom Dolezel
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. Jack Evans

16. Steven Ng
17. Pat Lynott
18. Mike Smith
19. Tom Van Horne
20. Andrew Wilson
21. Riley Di Nardo
22. Leandro Leivas
23. Gaston Mieres

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: Mark Janzen / Aedelhard

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