Team

Ruttan, 24, was selected fifth overall by the Arrows in the 2022 Major League Rugby Collegiate Draft, and heads home to Ontario after several years as a core player and established leader within the University of British Columbia rugby program.

The six-foot-three, 230-pound flanker has enjoyed a very successful spell with the Thunderbirds over the past year, notably captaining his UBC side to titles at both the 2021 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship and the 2021-2022 British Columbia Men’s Premier League competition.

Ruttan earned his first cap for Canada this past autumn, coming off the bench against Namibia in the Netherlands to make his senior international debut. The Academic All-Canadian represented Canada at the 2018 World Rugby Under-20 Trophy in Romania, and is also a graduate of the Ontario Blues junior men’s provincial program.

Having grown up a couple of hours outside of Toronto, the native of Cobourg, Ont. played his grassroots rugby with his hometown Cobourg Saxons and the Peterborough Pagans before departing for the west coast.

Ruttan stands to become the third player out of UBC to play for the Arrows in MLR, joining fellow Thunderbirds alumni Ben LeSage and Tyler Rowland.

Updated: Dec. 1, 2022