Arrows Drop Opener to Rugby ATL
The Toronto Arrows and Rugby ATL kicked off the 2023 Major League Rugby season on Friday night. The broadcast opened with a new MLR theme, opening video, and graphics that all enhanced the broadcast. Then play-by-play commentator Ben Holden proclaimed “time now for the Atlanta starting lineup presented by Arrow Exterminators”. I still don’t know if that is a real company or banter, but unfortunately it was too fitting for this match. Rugby ATL would walk away with a 17-10 victory and the Fire and Ice Cup for the third time.
Atlanta got tries from Alex Maughan, Austin White, and Rewita Biddle with Kurt Colman adding one conversion giving them a 17-0 lead at the 65 minute mark. Atlanta nearly added another after they pounced on a dropped ball by Sam Malcolm. Martini Talapusi would dot down, but the try was called back as White knocked on a loose pass from Canadian Jack Shaw in the build up.
The Arrows would get on the board in the 76th minute. Shane O’Leary sent a lovely kick into open space behind the Atlanta defence. Ciaran Breen would run onto it and pass to Mitch Richardson for the Arrows’ first try of 2023. Malcolm would later add a penalty on the final whistle to allow the Arrows to salvage a bonus point.
My first thought following the match was wondering if the Arrows should try O’Leary at flyhalf and Malcolm at fullback next week against New York? Throughout the match Arrows attack was lacking and never looked dangerous. One passage of play that stood out began around the 55th minute. Ryan Rees had a box kick that Malcolm gathers at the 10m line in Atlanta’s half. The Arrows then proceed to work through over 20 phases of play. The positive: the Arrows showed good patience and it was great ball retention in a game that featured far too many handling errors. The negative: the attack never really went anywhere. The play came to a halt as Richardson had a pass nearly intercepted by Talapusi resulting in a scrum about 5m behind where the possession initially began. The Arrows would turn the ball over shortly after the scrum. You do have to give credit where it is due and the Atlanta defence had some great line speed and tackling during this phase of play (as they did all match).
When O’Leary entered the game, the attack seemed to get a new spark injected into it. Obviously, he played a major factor in the Arrows lone try of the game. However, the Arrows also seemed to use the threat of Malcolm to draw some defenders away from O’Leary too. On the try, the Arrows have a scrum in the middle of the pitch. Malcolm lines up with Fabian Goodall on the near side and O’Leary lines up on the far side with Tautalatasi Tasi, Richardson, and Breen. Cole Brown initially fakes toward Malcolm which draws some defenders and reverses the ball to O’Leary who spots the Atlanta fullback Talapusi way out of position and kicks to the open space. Breen wins the race as Talapusi tries t come across the pitch as the only defender back and Richardson walks in for the try. It’s a brilliant piece of attack. If O’Leary starts at flyhalf with Malcolm at fullback, the Arrows can utilize two huge playmaking options to help open up defences. The pair also nearly connected on a cross-field kick toward the end of the game.
The other area of concern for the Arrows was the set piece early on. Mason Flesch came down with the ball in first lineout of the game, but then the Arrows lost their next three lineouts. Two of those lineouts were in prime attacking position as the Arrows left some early points off the board. Johan Momsen had a steal, Corey Thomas had a drop, and the third was an obstruction penalty. All of this within the first six minutes of the game. The scrum also got off to a rocky start. Atlanta won a penalty on the first Arrows scrum feed of the day. Later in the half, the Arrows opened up the bag of tricks. With a scrum about 20m in front of Atlanta’s posts, the Arrows backs lined up in a way that resembles the I-Formation in football. Malcolm was directly behind the scrum with Breen and Goodall directly behind him. I like the ingenuity and trying something unique. Unfortunately, this play didn’t work out and ultimately ended with a handling error.
After the rust was shaken off, the set piece did improve throughout the match. The lineout began to connect frequently and they caused some issues for the Atlanta pack as well. The Arrows scrum also began earning some penalties and showed plenty of emotion when they did. Of course, this all cumulates in the Richardson try discussed earlier which was a set piece play.
Despite the loss, there are still some positives that can be taken from the game. The Arrows were a physical team and made plenty of strong tackles. Micaiah Torrance-Read and Lucas Rumball led the way with a plethora of hits. The line speed was solid and Rugby ATL was not given much in attack. The Arrows also defended the maul well as Flesch was able to work his way through and hold up the ball. I also loved the emotion showed by Gene Syminton as the Arrows won a scrum penalty and he made sure the Atlanta front row knew about it. The Arrows hit the breakdown hard on both sides of the ball. Rumball was wreaking his usual havoc in this area of the game throughout. Travis Larsen had plenty of strong carries and doesn’t exactly look like fun to tackle. Speaking of which, Lolani Faleiva had a huge carry late in the game as Atlanta defenders bounced off him. Perhaps he can find himself in a starting jersey next week. It was also encouraging the to see the Arrows attack heat up at the end of the game and manage to leave Atlanta with a bonus point.
Ultimately, it was a tough opening game for Toronto. Perhaps, a few changes to the lineup can help jump start the attack going into next week. Handling errors and set piece execution will need improvement, but that is nothing that can’t be fixed. At the end of the day, it’s week 1, there is still plenty of rugby left to be played. The Arrows will look to bounce back next week as they head to the Big Apple for a clash with the defending Champions, Rugby New York Ironworkers.
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