Reid Scores First MLR Try as Arrows Fall to Free Jacks
April 17, 2023 - Major League Rugby (MLR)
Toronto Arrows News Release
The Arrows were met by stiff opposition in their clash with the New England Free Jacks on Saturday evening, falling 80-5 to the Eastern Conference leaders at York Lions Stadium.
Irish international Noel Reid scored in the defeat, marking the centre's first try in Arrows colours.
New England opened the scoring in the early stages of the match, with Andrew Quattrin crossing over off the back of a driving maul.
Attempts at a speedy response from Toronto were ground to a halt when the referee issued a yellow card to Peter Nelson, adjudging the Arrows fullback to have committed an infraction in an aerial duel with Taniela Filimone.
The momentum swing was felt acutely; the Free Jacks worked back up the pitch, and after a couple of timely offloads, Mitch Jacobson was the man to touch down in the corner. Soon after, a strong New England scrum deep in Toronto territory yielded a penalty try.
The Free Jacks tacked on two more tries coming out of the hydration break, with John Poland racing in before Quattrin scored his second of the game in a similar fashion to his first.
The Arrows appeared to get on the board after a Ross Braude line break led to Mason Flesch springing Dawson Fatoric into the corner, but the acrobatic tally from the winger was chalked off by the TMO for what was perceived to be an earlier infringement at the breakdown.
A second penalty try was awarded to New England minutes later. In a race to a chipped ball between duelling wingers Paula Balekana and Fatoric, the Arrow arrived first, with the ball popping off his arm and bouncing out the back of the in-goal area. The result, after a review by the TMO, was a double whammy for Toronto: a yellow card for the hosts and seven more points for the visitors.
Late first-half tries from Free Jacks wingers Filimone and Balekana put the Free Jacks ahead 54-0 at the break.
Coming out of the interval, it was New England picking up where they left off, with Le Roux Malan opening the second-half scoring off the heels of an Isaac Olson line break.
The Arrows found their breakthrough shortly thereafter, giving the 2,000+ in attendance a well-worked scoring play worthy of a roar. Coming off an attacking scrum on the Free Jacks' 22, D'Shawn Bowen zipped through the middle. Sensing opportunity, Shane O'Leary switched the direction of play and sent a rampaging Lolani Faleiva in one-on-one along the right side. The ensuing offload to the support-running Reid was coolly finished in the corner.
New England shut the door for the remainder of the match, keeping the hosts at bay while adding three more tries to their tally. Joe Johnston was sent in by a slicing Jayson Potroz, and coming out of the water break, Malan crossed over for his second before Cam Davidowicz scored the game's final try.
Fatoric, Shay Kerry, and Nelson made their first starts for the Arrows, and Connor Grindal came on in the second half for his MLR debut.
Twelve Arrows were unavailable for the game due to injury.
Toronto (1-7; 8 points) enters Week 10 of the 2023 season with a home clash against Seattle (6-2; 29 points) on Sunday, April 23. The Arrows hold a 3-2 all-time record against the Seawolves in regular season play, and were victorious over the Washington outfit in the lone match played in Toronto; Sunday's fixture marks the first time Seattle will travel to Ontario since 2019.
The cross-conference clash at York Lions Stadium will kick off at 4 p.m. ET. Tickets are available for purchase via AXS, with single game seats starting as low as $20.
GET TICKETS
Toronto Arrows Stat Leaders:
Ball Carries: Shane O'Leary, Lucas Rumball - 9
Carry Metres: Mason Flesch - 52
Defenders Beaten: Four Players - 2
Tackles Made: Lucas Rumball - 12
Offloads: Fabian Goodall - 2
Attacking Breakdown Arrivals: Adrian Wadden - 17
Defending Breakdown Arrivals: James O'Neill - 5
New England Free Jacks Stat Leaders:
Ball Carries: Wian Conradie - 14
Carry Metres: Paula Balekana - 145
Defenders Beaten: Paula Balekana - 8
Tackles Made: Wian Conradie - 18
Offloads: Three Players - 4
Attacking Breakdown Arrivals: Kyle Ciquera - 16
Defending Breakdown Arrivals: Wian Conradie - 6
Toronto Arrows Score Report:
Tries: Noel Reid (50 ¬Â²)
New England Free Jacks Score Report:
Tries: Andrew Quattrin 2 (4 ¬Â², 28 ¬Â²), Mitch Jacobson (6 ¬Â²), Penalty Try 2 (12'*, 33'*), John Poland (23 ¬Â²), Taniela Filimone (36 ¬Â²), Paula Balekana (40 ¬Â²), Le Roux Malan 2 (48 ¬Â², 67 ¬Â²), Joe Johnston (55 ¬Â²), Cam Davidowicz (72 ¬Â²)
Conversions: Jayson Potroz 8 (5 ¬Â², 7 ¬Â², 24 ¬Â², 29 ¬Â², 40+1 ¬Â², 56 ¬Â², 68 ¬Â², 73 ¬Â²)
* = seven-point try
Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. New England Free Jacks:
Ramon Ayarza
Gene Syminton
Lolani Faleiva
Mike Sheppard (VC)
Adrian Wadden
Mason Flesch
Lucas Rumball (C)
Shay Kerry
Ross Braude
Shane O'Leary
Dawson Fatoric
Noel Reid
Mitch Richardson
D'Shawn Bowen
Peter Nelson
Jack McRogers
Connor Grindal
Nik Hildebrand
Mitch Eadie
James O'Neill
Will Grant
Fabian Goodall
Kobe Faust
Major League Rugby Stories from April 17, 2023
- Week 9 Milestone Tracker: Rumball Becomes First Arrow to 600 Tackles - Toronto Arrows
- Reid Scores First MLR Try as Arrows Fall to Free Jacks - Toronto Arrows
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
