Toronto Arrows


Toronto Arrows R.F.C. is a rugby union club based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that plays in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team is an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and is funded by a group of private investors and supporters. The team splits its home games between Alumni Field of York University and Lamport Stadium for its inaugural 2019 MLR season.

History

The team was founded as the Ontario Arrows in 2017 with the intent of joining the Major League Rugby 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, 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. The team splits its 2019 home games between Alumni Field of York University and Lamport Stadium.

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

Players and personnel

Current squad

The following players have been reported for Toronto for the 2020 season:

Season standings

Honors

All games in the 2018 season were exhibition games and did not count in the league standings.
DateOpponentHome/AwayLocationResult
March 3Houston SaberCatsAwayConstellation FieldDraw, 28–28
March 17Rugby United New YorkAwayMazzella FieldLost, 19–36
April 6Utah WarriorsAwayRio Tinto StadiumWon, 24–20
April 14Rugby United New YorkHomeYork Alumni StadiumCancelled due to weather
April 21Mystic River Rugby ClubAwayPine Banks ParkWon, 29–19
May 5Mystic River Rugby ClubHomeYork Alumni StadiumWon, 77–8
May 18Canada SelectsHomeYork Lions StadiumLost, 0–19
May 26Canada SelectsAwayWesthills StadiumLost, 28–58

2019 season

Exhibition

Regular season

Post season

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