O'Neill to Make First MLR Start as Arrows Look to Bounce Back in Utah
March 18, 2022 - Major League Rugby (MLR)
Toronto Arrows News Release
HERRIMAN, UT - Toronto Arrows Head Coach Peter Smith has named his starting lineup for Saturday's clash with the Utah Warriors.
Rookie flanker James O'Neill will start for the first time in his young career, while Ueta Tufuga swaps midfield positions to cover for the injured Spencer Jones and Mitch Richardson draws in at outside centre.
Matt Hood returns to the starting lineup in place of Gaston Mieres, with the Uruguayan also landing on the injured reserve.
Dennon Robinson-Bartlett has been activated from the IR; the Kiwi, along with veteran prop Rob Brouwer, is in line to make his first appearance of the season as a substitute.
Ten players are currently listed on the injured reserve and are unavailable for selection.
Squad Notes:
Brouwer and Robinson-Bartlett are in contention to make their season and club debuts off the bench, respectively
Sam Malcolm is currently on 248 career points, two points off from becoming the first player in club history to hit the 250-point milestone
Ten squad members are full Canadian internationals: Braude (8 caps), Brouwer (11 caps), Ciulini (8 caps), Keith (24 caps), Kelly (1 cap), Quattrin (13 caps), Rowland (6 caps), Rumball (43 caps), Sheppard (11 caps), Webster (5 caps)
One additional squad member is a full international: de la Vega (12 caps; Argentina)
Ten players are on the injured reserve and are unavailable for selection: Baillie, Brown, du Toit, Faleiva, Faust, A. Ferguson, B. Ferguson, Flesch, Jones, Mieres
The Arrows hold a 2-1 all-time record against Utah, with the Canadian outfit winning twice in 2019 - the first meeting, a 64-31 win in Utah, set the then-league record for both points scored and tries scored in a single match - before the Warriors claimed victory in Week 2 of the 2021 season.
Saturday's game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET. The cross-conference tilt will stream on TSN.ca and the TSN App for Canadian audiences, and will be available on The Rugby Network for international audiences.
Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. Utah Warriors:
Cole Keith
Andrew Quattrin
Isaac Salmon
Mike Sheppard (C)
Paul Ciulini
Lucas Rumball
James O'Neill
Ronan Foley
Ross Braude
Sam Malcolm
Brock Webster
Ueta Tufuga
Mitch Richardson
Matt Hood
Conor McCann
Jack McRogers
Rob Brouwer
Tyler Rowland
Adrian Wadden
Tomas de la Vega
Chris Bell
Will Kelly
Dennon Robinson-Bartlett
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