Toronto Arrows R.F.C. was a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that played in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team was an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and was funded by a group of private investors and supporters. They are currently on hiatus following the 2023 season.
History
2017–2018: Ontario Arrows
The team was founded as the Ontario Arrows in 2017 with the intent of joining the Major League Rugby (MLR) competition for the 2019 season. The Arrows debuted September 9, 2017, in a match against the Glendale Merlins losing 41–7.
In spring 2018, the Arrows played a six-game exhibition schedule against the Houston SaberCats, Rugby United New York, Utah Warriors, and Boston's Mystic River Rugby Club. The schedule was extended to include games against the Canada Selects. The Arrows' 2018 home opener was a decided victory over the Mystic River Rugby Club.
In July 2018, the Arrows announced that MLR had granted them exclusive rights to negotiate for a franchise in Ontario. In November 2018, MLR announced that the Arrows had joined the league for the 2019 season. At the same time, the Ontario Arrows changed their name to the Toronto Arrows. The ownership group is led by Bill Webb, partner and chief investment officer at Waypoint Investment Partners. The ownership group also includes the former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Burke, Boat Rocker Sports (a division of Boat Rocker Media), Duncan McNaughton, an assistant coach with the Canadian women's team and the Queen's University men, Kevin Reed of AR3 Capital, and John Ferraro of Mass Marketing Inc. As MLR operates as a single entity league, the ownership group purchased an equity stake in the league, at the cost of a few million dollars, and received operating rights to a franchise in the Toronto market.
2019–2021: First MLR seasons In the 2019 season the team split its home games between Alumni Field of York University and Lamport Stadium in its inaugural 2019 MLR season.
After playing only five matches in 2020, the Arrows ceased play, along with the rest of the league, as the COVID-19 pandemic began. Due to border crossing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2021 season, the Arrows temporarily relocated to Marietta, Georgia, to share Rugby ATL's facilities at Lupo Family Field.
2022–2023: Final seasons For the 2022 season, the Arrows hosted their game against the LA Giltinis at Starlight Stadium in Langford, British Columbia, marking the first MLR regular season game to be held in the province. The remainder of their home games were played at the renovated York Lions Stadium, over 1,000 days after the team's previous home game in Toronto.
On August 30, 2023, the Arrows announced the passing of president and general partner, Bill Webb. Bill Webb's passing resulted in an outpouring of support from across the rugby world, including players, teams, leagues and foundations. On November 27, 2023, it was announced that the Arrows would not compete in the 2024 MLR season.
Broadcasts For 2019, home games were shown on GameTV. Lincoln Rose and Kit McConnico were the on-air talent.
For 2020, TSN was announced as the Arrows broadcast partner. Following the cancellation of the 2020 Major League Rugby season, TSN produced a 10-episode series, showing 60-minute highlights from chosen Arrows games, called "Arrows in an Hour."
Sponsorship Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Other shirt sponsor(s) 2018XBlades Waypoint Investment Partners Blackshire CapitalDineen Coffee360centre360 2019Honda CanadaWaypoint Investment Partners 2020–2021Paladin Sports 2022 Coolbet Canada 2023TIRF (Toronto Inner-City Rugby Foundation) Metro Supply Chain GroupFoundation Physiotherapy & Wellness
Players and personnel Head coaches Chris Silverthorn (2019–2021) Peter Smith (2021–2023) Stephen Meehan (2023)
Captains Lucas Rumball, Dan Moor (2019) (co-captains) Dan Moor, Lucas Rumball (2020) (co-captains) Lucas Rumball, Ben LeSage (2021) (co-captains) Mike Sheppard (2022) Lucas Rumball, Sam Malcolm (Vice captains) Lucas Rumball (2023) Sam Malcolm, Mike Sheppard (Vice captains)
Team staff
, the members of the team staff are:
Peter Smith — Head Coach Rob Howley — Attack Coach Francois Ratier – Defence & Skills Coach Francisco Deformes — Forwards Coach Cory Hector — Arrows Academy Director & Head Coach Alex Lee – Head of Performance Shane Cahill – Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach Richard Owen – Head Performance Analyst Neil MacDougall – Team Manager Scott Shannon — Head Athletic Therapist Chris Chan – Senior Team Physiotherapist Terri Jones – Academy Athletic Therapist Dr. John Gillis – Head Team Physician Chris Silverthorn – Director of Player Development
Front office Bill Webb – President and General Partner Tim Matthews – Vice President and General Manager Rahul Srinivasan – Chief Commercial Officer Mark Winokur – Co-Founder and Special Advisor
Records
Season standings SeasonConferenceRegular seasonPostseasonPosPldWDLFA+/−BPPtsPldWLFA+/− Result2019 – 3rd 16 11 0 5 472 362 +110 13 57 1 011730−13Lost Semifinal (Seattle Seawolves) 17–302020 Eastern 1st5 4 0 1 151 89 +62 3 19 – – – – – – Cancelled2021 Eastern6th 16 5 0 11 411 412 −1 10 30 – – – – – – Did not qualify 2022 Eastern4th 16 8 0 8 414 390 +24 9 41 – – – – – – Did not qualify2023 Eastern6th 16 1 2 13 306 601 -295 8 16 – – – – – – Did not qualifyTotals 69 29 2 38 1,754 1,854 -100 43 163 1 0 1 17 30 -13 1 postseason appearance
Notes
2018 season (exhibition) All games in the 2018 season were exhibition games and did not count in the league standings. Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result March 3 Houston SaberCats Away Constellation Field Draw, 28–28 March 17 Rugby United New York Away Mazzella Field Lost, 19–36 April 6 Utah Warriors Away Rio Tinto Stadium Won, 24–20 April 14 Rugby United New York Home York Alumni Stadium Cancelled due to weather April 21 Mystic River Rugby Club Away Pine Banks Park Won, 29–19 May 5 Mystic River Rugby Club Home York Alumni Stadium Won, 77–8 May 18 Canada Selects Home York Lions Stadium Lost, 0–19 May 26 Canada Selects Away Westhills Stadium Lost, 28–58
2019 season
Exhibition Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result September 16, 2018 Glendale Raptors Home York Lions Stadium Won, 40–18 October 20, 2018 New England Free Jacks Home Wanderers Grounds Won, 40–14 January 12, 2019 Rugby United New York Neutral Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse Postponed May 18, 2019 New England Free Jacks Away Brophy Field at Dartmouth'sCorey Ford Rugby Clubhouse Postponed
Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result January 26 New Orleans Gold Away Eagle Athletic Facility Lost, 31–36 February 8 Austin Elite Away Dell Diamond Won, 23–19 February 17 Seattle Seawolves Away Starfire Stadium Lost, 30–35 February 22 Houston SaberCats Away Aveva Stadium Won, 44–27 March 2 Glendale Raptors Away Infinity Park Lost, 0–22 March 10 San Diego Legion Away Torero Stadium Won, 27–20 March 15 Rugby United New York Away MCU Park Lost, 21–24 March 30 Utah Warriors Away Zions Bank Stadium Won, 64–31 April 7 New Orleans Gold Home Alumni Field Lost, 31–35 April 21 Houston SaberCats Home Alumni Field Won, 35–21 April 28 Seattle Seawolves Home Alumni Field Won, 29–7 May 5 San Diego Legion Home Lamport Stadium Won, 23–19 May 9 Austin Elite Home Alumni Field Won, 24–13 May 12 Utah Warriors Home Lamport Stadium Won, 28–21 May 26 Glendale Raptors Home Lamport Stadium Won, 40–12 June 2 Rugby United New York Home Lamport Stadium Won, 22–20
Postseason Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result June 9 Seattle Seawolves Away Starfire Sports Loss, 17–30
2020 season
On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 19, 2020, MLR announced that they had cancelled the season and all remaining games for 2020.
Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result February 9 Austin Gilgronis Away Circuit of the Americas Won, 38–10 February 16 Houston SaberCats Neutral Sam Boyd Stadium Won, 27–22 February 22 Seattle Seawolves Away Starfire Sports Complex Won, 39–17 March 1 Rugby ATL Away Life University Running Eagles Stadium Won, 28–18 March 6 Colorado Raptors Away Infinity Park Lost, 19–22 March 22 Rugby United New York Away MCU Park Cancelled March 28 New Orleans Gold Away Gold Mine April 4 Utah Warriors Home York Alumni Stadium April 11 New England Free Jacks Home York Alumni Stadium April 19 Rugby ATL Home Lamport Stadium April 26 Old Glory DC Away Cardinal Stadium May 1 New Orleans Gold Home Lamport Stadium May 10 San Diego Legion Home Lamport Stadium May 18 New England Free Jacks Away Union Point Sports Complex May 22 Rugby United New York Home Lamport Stadium May 30 Old Glory DC Home Lamport Stadium
2021 season
Due to the Canadian federal government closing the border between the USA and Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Toronto relocated to Marietta, Georgia for the 2021 season. Although intended to be for the start of the season, the ongoing pandemic meant that all of the Arrow's “home” games were played at Lupo Family Field, sharing the ground with Rugby ATL for the season.
Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Result March 20 Rugby ATL Away Lost, 14–21 March 27 Utah Warriors Away Lost, 24–39 April 3 Old Glory DC Away Won, 40–19 April 10 LA Giltinis Home Lost, 16–43 April 17 Seattle Seawolves Home Won, 52–7 April 25 Rugby United New York Away Won, 53–12 May 2 New Orleans Gold Away Lost, 14–22 May 9 Rugby ATL Home Lost, 29–33 May 15 Houston SaberCats Away Won, 19–10 May 29 New England Free Jacks Away Lost, 12–14 June 6 San Diego Legion Home Lost, 30–40 June 12 Austin Gilgronis Away Lost, 47–21 June 20 New Orleans Gold Home Lost, 12–18 June 27 Rugby United New York Home Lost, 24–31 July 4 Old Glory DC Home Won, 34–28 July 11 New England Free Jacks Home Lost, 17–28
2022 season Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Result February 6 Seattle Seawolves Away Lost, 8–21 February 11 LA Giltinis Home Lost, 16–31 February 19 New Orleans Gold Away Won, 24–23 February 26 Old Glory DC Away Won, 29–5 March 12 New England Free Jacks Away Lost, 15–21 March 19 Utah Warriors Away Won, 27–24 March 27 Rugby United NY Away Won, 14–10 April 2 Rugby ATL Home Lost, 14–20 April 9 Old Glory DC Home Won, 32–27 April 16 New Orleans Gold Home Won, 53–36 April 23 Houston SaberCats Away Lost, 17–29 May 8 Rugby United NY Home Lost, 17–41 May 14 Dallas Jackals Home Won, 57–0 May 19 New England Free Jacks Home Won, 33–18 May 28 Rugby ATL Away Lost, 23–34 June 5 Old Glory DC Home Lost, 35–50
2023 season Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result February 17 Rugby ATL Away Silverbacks Park Lost, 17–10 February 26 Rugby New York Away Mount Vernon Memorial Stadium Lost, 39–3 March 11 Chicago Hounds Away SeatGeek Stadium Won, 27–26 March 18 Old Glory DC Away Segra Field Lost, 29–3 March 25 Utah Warriors Away Zions Bank Stadium Lost, 47–19 April 1 Dallas Jackals Away Choctaw Stadium Lost, 14–11 April 8 Rugby New York Home York Lions Stadium Lost, 29–27 April 15 New England Free Jacks Home York Lions Stadium Lost, 80–5 April 23 Seattle Seawolves Home York Lions Stadium Lost, 36–27 April 30 New Orleans Gold Away The Gold Mine Lost, 40–24 May 12 Rugby ATL Home York Lions Stadium Draw, 34–34 May 18 Old Glory DC Home York Lions Stadium Draw, 29–29 May 27 New England Free Jacks Away Veterans Memorial Stadium Lost, 57–20 June 3 Houston SaberCats Home York Lions Stadium Lost, 48–26 June 11 San Diego Legion Home York Lions Stadium Lost, 50–17 June 17 New Orleans Gold Home York Lions Stadium Lost, 26–24
References
External links official website (archived)