Toronto Arrows ready for second season in an expanded Major League Rugby Globe_Sports
Tayler Adams, a former New Zealand under-20 international and Melbourne Rebel, and Will Kelly of the Pacific Pride offer variety at fly half while allowing incumbent New Zealander Sam Malcolm to move to fullback.
Toronto opens Feb. 9 at the Austin Herd, the first of seven straight road games before the home opener April 4 against Utah. Seven of the nine remaining matches after that are in Toronto.The Arrows have yet to announce a venue for their first three home games — with a return to York University a possibility — with the final four at Lamport Stadium.
The team averaged around 2,500 at home last season, not bad considering it essentially only had two months lead time to get ready once it was admitted to the league.The league is expected to add franchises in Dallas and Los Angeles in 2021 with two more expansion teams to follow, bringing the league up to 16 teams.
MLR is becoming increasingly important to Rugby Canada. Jones says 56 Canadians are currently under contract to the North American league.“Obviously the more players we can have in a daily training environment, the better it is for all of us — particularly the national team,” he added. “The Arrows are the flagship, flying the flag really well for us.
“I just think the MLR will get better every week, every season. That’s only good for us. It’s got a little way to go but I’m very positive about it.”The Arrows take on Utah on Jan. 18 in an exhibition game in Las Vegas. They then face Rugby United New York in a controlled scrimmage Jan. 25 at the Buffalo Bills’ indoor practice facility in Orchard Park, N.Y.
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