The Toronto Arrows home opener is on Saturday, April. 8 at 4:00 p.m. ET. In that game, they will face Rugby New York. Rugby New York came into MLR in the same year as the Arrows and are currently the defending MLR champions.
Toronto Arrows home opener against Rugby New York on April 8
Toronto Arrows
The Toronto Arrows did not have a successful road trip. They started the season with a record of 1-5. That loss against the Dallas Jackals is going to sting as they were quite close to possibly winning the game.
Ross Braude was a highlight for Toronto. The young South African-born Canadian international was able to score a fantastic try to give the Arrows a chance to win the game. Braude did earn the bonus point for Toronto, which might help if the Arrows have a long-winning streak and make the MLR playoffs this year.
The Arrows had a chance to salvage a draw at Choctaw Stadium. They however went for the win, a brave decision, but one that did not work out. The Arrows failed to score and gave Dallas their first-ever MLR win in franchise history. There is an argument about whether the Arrows should have aimed to get the draw or not. However, at the end of the day, earning oneself the win is the only way Toronto can learn as they try to get an MLR Championship Shield.
Rugby New York
With Rugby New York (nicknamed the Ironworkers), they were able to earn the victory over Rugby ATL and put themselves back in the playoff race. They have a record of three wins and three losses and currently occupy the third and last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Arrows earned themselves a win at Memorial Stadium in Mt. Vernon, New York. They were able to win that game 31-20. Heighton played a big role Andrew Coe score a try and converted a very difficult kick. This is what the player of the match, Jack Heighton, said about the win according to The Rugby Network:
“It feels good,” Heighton said. “That is three blocks between the bars and that first block probably wasn’t us, you know, ran the chance on two or three. So, we took a week off and kind of regrouped. And we just wanted to come out here and show what New York rugby is all about and I think you guys saw it a bit in that game before, we put ourselves under pressure a few times. So go back and look at that. But look, you got to be happy with a win against an Eastern Conference team.”
Head-to-Head
So I did some number crunching out of curiosity, and in their @usmlr history the @TorontoArrows have a:
.733 Win % in Toronto.
.409 Win % away from Toronto.The Arrows home opener awaits!#MLR2023 #ArrowsUp #StrapIn #MLRStats
— James Deeley (@JamDelay) April 2, 2023
Rugby New York has already won the first meeting this year at home which was a 39-3 win. The all-time record between the two teams is three wins and two losses in favour of Rugby New York. The most notable game was the first one in 2019 when Toronto defeated New York City at Lamport Stadium and made their first and right now only MLR playoff appearance. The last time both teams met up in Toronto, ended in a big road win for New York at York Lions Stadium.
READ MORE: Toronto Arrows 2019 Top 5 home games; Franchise lessons learned
Time and date of the game at York Lions Stadium
The game takes place at York Lions Stadium at 4:00 p.m. ET. The game will be shown live on MSG, The Rugby Network, and televised nationally on TSN4. Toronto has a record of 1-5 while New York City has a record of 3-3. If Toronto wins this game, they are only one game back of New York City. However, if the Arrows lose it, Rugby New York will have a three-game advantage over Toronto.
Photo Credit: Dustin Satloff/Getty Images for Rugby New York on February 26, 2023.
