Toronto Arrows
Full nameToronto Arrows
Nickname(s)Arrows
FoundedOntario Arrows
2017–2018
Toronto Arrows
2018–2023[1] [2]
LocationToronto, Ontario, Canada
Ground(s)York Lions Stadium (Capacity: 4,000)
Coach(es)Steve Meehan
Captain(s)Lucas Rumball
Top scorerSam Malcolm (212)
Most triesGaston Mieres (11)
League(s)Major League Rugby
20224th (Eastern Conference)
Official website
torontoarrows.com
Current season

Toronto Arrows R.F.C. was a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that played in Major League Rugby.[3] 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.[4] They are currently on hiatus following the 2023 season.[5]

History

Ontario Arrows' logo
(2017–18)
Toronto Arrows first logo
(2018-23)
Co-founder and president Bill Webb

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.[6][7][8][9] The Arrows debuted September 9, 2017, in a match against the Glendale Merlins losing 41–7.[10]

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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[14][15]

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.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18]

On August 30, 2023, the Arrows announced the passing of president and general partner, Bill Webb.[19] Bill Webb's passing resulted in an outpouring of support from across the rugby world, including players, teams, leagues and foundations.[20] On November 27, 2023, it was announced that the Arrows would not compete in the 2024 MLR season.[21]

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.[22] 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."[23]

Sponsorship

Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Other shirt sponsor(s)
2018 XBlades Waypoint Investment Partners Blackshire Capital
Dineen Coffee
360centre360
2019 Honda Canada Waypoint Investment Partners
2020–2021 Paladin Sports
2022 Coolbet Canada
2023 TIRF (Toronto Inner-City Rugby Foundation) Metro Supply Chain Group
Foundation Physiotherapy & Wellness

Players and personnel

Head coaches

Captains

Team staff

As of January 2023, the members of the team staff are:[24]

Front office

Records

Season standings

Season Conference Regular season Postseason
Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts Pld W L F A +/− Result
2019 – 3rd 16 11 0 5 472 362 +110 13 57 1 0 1 17 30 −13 Lost Semifinal (Seattle Seawolves) 17–30
2020[a] Eastern 1st 5 4 0 1 151 89 +62 3 19 – – – – – – Cancelled
2021 Eastern 6th 16 5 0 11 411 412 −1 10 30 – – – – – – Did not qualify
2022 Eastern 4th 16 8 0 8 414 390 +24 9 41 – – – – – – Did not qualify
2023 Eastern 6th 16 1 2 13 306 601 -295 8 16 – – – – – – Did not qualify
Totals 69 29 2 38 1,754 1,854 -100 43 163 1 0 1 17 30 -13 1 postseason appearance

Notes

  1. ^ 2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Main article: 2019 Major League Rugby 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's
Corey 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

Post season

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.[25] On March 19, 2020, MLR announced that they had cancelled the season and all remaining games for 2020.[26]

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.[27] 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

  1. ^ "MLR Announces Additions of Toronto and Washington, D.C." usmlr.com. Major League Rugby. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  2. ^ "Toronto Arrows To Not Compete In 2024 Mlr Season". usmlr.com. Major League Rugby. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  3. ^ "Major League Rugby adds Ontario Arrows for 2019". Americas Rugby News. September 25, 2018. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  4. ^ "Ontario Arrows: The Rise of Canada's Next-Gen High Performance Team". Aedelhard. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  5. ^ "Toronto Arrows To Not Compete In 2024 Mlr Season". usmlr.com. Major League Rugby. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  6. ^ "New York and Ontario in Major League Rugby talks". November 13, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  7. ^ "Ontario Arrows to launch Elite Rugby Team in September". August 25, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  8. ^ Davidson, Neil (September 8, 2017). "Ontario Arrows take first step toward becoming pro rugby outfit". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  9. ^ "MLR reveals Finals Locations and Expansion Plans". March 7, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  10. ^ "Glendale gets even with Ontario – Americas Rugby News". www.americasrugbynews.com. September 10, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  11. ^ "Ontario Arrows score 12 tries in 77–8 win over Boston Mystics". djcoilrugby. May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  12. ^ "Release: Ontario Arrows Planning Major League Rugby Entry for 2019". Ontario Arrows. July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  13. ^ "Major League Rugby Announces Additions of Toronto and DC". Ontario Arrows. November 2, 2018. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Toronto Arrows will join Major League Rugby". Toronto Star. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  15. ^ Campbell, Morgan (December 11, 2018). "Expansion Toronto Arrows join Major League Rugby with optimism and business savvy". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  16. ^ "Toronto Arrows Announce Ticketing Details, Home Venues for 2019 Major League Rugby Season". Toronto Arrows. January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  17. ^ "Toronto Arrows Club to Establish Temporary Home in Atlanta". OurSports Central. February 3, 2021.
  18. ^ "ARROWS ANNOUNCE 2022 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE". Toronto Arrows. November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "Toronto Arrows Mourn the Passing of President and General Partner Bill Webb". Toronto Arrows. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  20. ^ "Honouring Bill Webb". Toronto Arrows. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  21. ^ "Toronto Arrows, Canada's lone entry in Major League Rugby, not playing in 2024". www.sportsnet.ca. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "Toronto Arrows Announce TSN as 2020 Media Partner". Toronto Arrows. February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  23. ^ "Toronto Arrows Media Partner TSN to Deliver New 'Arrows in an Hour' Series". Toronto Arrows. May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  24. ^ "Team Staff". Toronto Arrows. Toronto. January 19, 2023. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  25. ^ "Major League Rugby Suspends 2020 Season for 30 Days". Major League Rugby. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  26. ^ "Major League Rugby has Decided to Cancel the Remainder of the 2020 Season and Turn Attention to 2021". Major League Rugby. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  27. ^ "Toronto Arrows to establish temporary home in Atlanta for start of 2021 season". Toronto Arrows. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

External links

Toronto Arrows
Major League Rugby
Sports in the Greater Toronto Area
Sports teams based in Ontario
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