Player profile – Lucas Rumball: Co-Captain of the Toronto Arrows

Toronto Arrows player Lucas Rumball in the second half at Segra Field

Lucas Rumball was born in Markham, Ontario from the York Region, which is in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in 1995. Rumball was then brought up in Scarborough, Ontario so is a local Toronto product.

He made his first-ever Canadian national team appearance with a 33-17 win over Uruguay in 2016. A member of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, making his first-ever World Cup appearance in a 48-7 loss to Italy.

Today, he is an integral part of the franchise, as the club plays in the 2021 Major League Rugby (MLR) campaign, based in Georgia, ATL (due to the Coronavirus pandemic).

Toronto Arrows player profile: Lucas Rumball

Lucas Rumball has been with the Arrows in MLR since 2019. He has played since 2019 for the Arrows and has scored two tries and 10 points during that time.

He scored his first-ever professional try against the Utah Warriors on March 30, 2019. They would end up winning that game 31-64 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. What he is most known for though are his tackles.

Rumball is ranked fourth in the 2021 MLR season in tackles made this year [before the Arrows faced the Seattle Seawolves last Saturday].

Tackling is a specialty of Lucas Rumball, as he is one of the best at it in North America. In the 2019-20 MLR seasons, he has made 163 tackles and has a completion rate of 94.8 percent according to the Toronto Arrows. He has also made 89 carries and completed nine offloads within that timeframe.

Since 2019, Rumball was Toronto’s first-ever club captain of a professional rugby franchise. “Lucas is a player who leads by example,” said Arrows Director of Rugby Chris Silverthorn“He’s the type of player who gives his all, whether it’s on the pitch or at the training ground.

“Lucas sets a professional tone day-in and day-out, and has earned the respect of his teammates with his dedicated approach to the game and the intangibles he adds to the culture of the club.”

Rumball was promoted to vice-captain of the Arrows in 2020, and he became co-captain again in 2021, sharing this role and responsibilities with Ben LeSage.

Lucas Rumball’s career to date with Rugby Canada

Lucas Rumball has been with the Canadian men’s national team since 2016. During that period, he has had 20 points in 35 games. His debut with Rugby Canada came on February 6, 2016, at the Americas Rugby Championship according to DJCOILRUGBY. He has made 35 appearances, including 32 starts and four tries.

Being a leader is one thing Rumball is known for. In 2018, Kingsley Jones made Rumball the captain of the Canada team as they faced a test match with the Russians according to Mark Janzen of Aedelhard. Canada would end up losing that game 20-43 to the Russians.

Lucas Rumball will not appear in the scoresheet too many times with tries or assists. However, with his great defensive play and tackling ability, he holds his own against other players from around the world. With MLR, he is one of the best tacklers in North America. TSN broadcaster Brian Spanton even said at the end of the game that Rumball to him played extremely well against the Seawolves.

This just shows how important Rumball means to the Arrows team and organization.

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The Arrows will travel to New York City next on April 25. There, Toronto will face their expansion cousins Rugby United New York. The game is scheduled in Canada on TSN2 at 2:00 p.m. ET. It can also be watched on The Rugby Network and MSG.

 

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