Arrows Battle Champs
The Toronto Arrows head to the Big Apple to battle the defending champions Rugby New York Ironworkers. Both clubs will be looking for their first win of 2023. The Arrows dropped their opener to Rugby ATL, while the Ironworkers fell to the Seattle Seawolves in the rematch of the 2022 Final.
Starting XV
Toronto
Last week’s match seems to have taken a heavy toll on the Arrows. Nic Benn, Corey Thomas, Tyler Rowland, Sam Malcolm, and Shane O’Leary have all found themselves on the injury/recovery list. The Arrows’ depth will be tested early. With both Malcolm and O’Leary out, Mitch Richardson will get his first professional start at flyhalf. As a result, Fabian Goodall moves to centre with Tautalatasi Tasi. Kobe Faust replaces Nic Benn on the wing and former Bristol Bear Mitch Eadie will make his Arrows’ debut in the number 8 jersey. The bench will feature a 6-2 split. Ramon Ayarza and Nik Hildebrand are set to make their Arrow debuts. James O’Neill and Avery Oitomen are in line to make their season debuts, with Oitomen making his first appearance since 2019.
New York
The newly rebranded Ironworkers will open their new home at Mount Vernon with a strong lineup. Canadian Andrew Coe will start on the wing, while Quinn Ngawati will not feature in this match. Coe was instrumental in the New York’s championship run highlighted by a Man of the Match performance in the Eastern Conference Final against New England. The rest of the Ironworkers lineup features many stalwarts of the New York franchise including Dylan Fawsitt, Nate Brakeley, Sam Windsor, and Ed Fidow.
Storylines
Richardson at Flyhalf
With Malcolm and O’Leary ruled out for this clash, Mitch Richardson will find himself in the 10 jersey. This game will mark Richardson’s first game at flyhalf the profesional level. It will certainly be a challenege. Richardson will be a key ball distrubuter as the Arrows look to get their attack going. He will have a centre combination in Goodall and Tasi that has not yet played an Arrows match together. Adding to the challenge will be his opposite number; the MLR’s all-time leading scorer, Sam Windsor.
Maul of America
The Ironworkers operate one of the best rolling mauls in MLR. The evidence is that hooker Dylan Fawsitt is the league’s all-time leading try scroer. The vast majority of those tries (maybe all of them, I never checked) have come from the dominate New York maul. Last week seemed to be a rare occasion where the maul came up empty handed. Mason Flesch did an unreal job in Atlanta last weekend as he was instrumental in the Arrows being able shut down the Rugby ATL maul. He was able to generate some turnovers by getting to the ball carrier and holding up the maul. Flesch and the Arrows pack will look to replicate that success this afternoon.
House Warming
The Ironworkers have bounced around a few homes in their first four years in MLR. This year, the Arrows get the honour of opening their new home at Mount Vernon Memorial Stadium. The Arrows will do their best to ruin the Champs’ house warming party.
The Toronto Arrows will battle the Rugby New York Ironworkers at 3pm this afternoon. Fans in Canada can watch the game on TSN 4 and the TSN digital platforms. Fans south of the border can watch on the Rugby Network.