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History tends to follow these two teams around and will again on Friday evening as Rugby United New York celebrates their first ever home match in Major League Rugby against the Toronto Arrows. The two sides have locked horns before, but this time it’s for real, and will be at the decidedly more colorful backdrop of Coney Island’s MCU Park.
It’s the second time the Arrows will have played a part in RUNY’s story. The first ever match for New York’s first ever professional side was on March 17, 2018, coincidentally almost a year to the day of their second meeting. That game was played at Mazzella Field in New Rochelle.
A second game was planned, scheduled, and oh-so-close to taking place at York Alumni Stadium only for the weather gods to put the deep freeze on Toronto. It spoiled what was to be the first home game for the Arrows and the match, intended to be rescheduled, was ultimately cancelled.
And so here we are at last. Two of the largest sporting markets in North America will collide in MLR for the first time. The two expansion sides were expected to be more than competitive and thus far, it’s fair to say they have delivered. Friday night’s match threatens to be the toughest either have played this season, only adding to the occasion that promises to have several thousand fans in attendance.
At the mercy of their climate, neither team have played a home game as of yet. Toronto will play two more on the road before their grand opening against NOLA on April 7. Thus far the Arrows have pulled through with a respectable 3-3 record against tough competition. It doesn’t get any easier on Friday but at least they will be free of jet lag.
The Americas Rugby Championship has come to a close but only three players will suit up for Toronto this week, the other four rested. Most notably Lucas Rumball starts on the flank, now sharing the captain duties with Dan Moor. He takes over from Marcello Wainwright, while tighthead prop Cole Keith takes up a spot on the bench.
Uruguay’s Gaston Mieres gets his first MLR start on the wing in place of breakthrough star Avery Oitomen. The teenager took a heavy knock against San Diego but it should be expected that more experienced players would take over at this point in the season. Otherwise the backs are unchanged.
New York have made three changes to the side that overwhelmed Utah in the snow. Paddy Ryan returns at tighthead prop after being left on the bench last week, and John Quill returns from the Eagles to take up a spot on the flank. Matt Hughston moves to the bench and Callum Mackintosh is summoned to provide cover for Ryan in place of Chris Sullivan.
Will Leonard returns to partner Mark O’Keeffe in a powerful midfield after the former was given the week off to rest some minor complaints. Cathal Marsh is passed fit despite coming off early against the Warriors, so Chris Mattina moves back to the wing with Derek Lipscomb the odd man out.
On the bench there is a continuation for Mike St. Claire, who played well as a replacement in the midfield at Salt Lake. The outside backs will be covered by USA international Luke Hume, who has shaken off injury to make his return to the roster just in time for the home opener.
This promises to be a very close contest with the two sides relatively evenly matched. Toronto’s scrum has been near untouchable but New York are no shrinking violets in that department, particularly with Ryan back in the No3 shirt.
There is parity at the halfbacks, and there is room for debate in the backs were the Arrows look skillful but are perhaps short on genuine pace in the absence of Kainoa Lloyd and Theo Sauder. RUNY are not the fastest lot either, though they do have a pair of bullets in reserve.
If there is an advantage it’s in experience and that edge goes to New York. The Arrows are a comparatively young side with more youth on the bench. On what could be a damp night, mistakes will cost points and with a partisan crowd behind them RUNY enter as betting favorites but not by much.
Kickoff is set for 7pm Eastern time, 4pm Pacific. Local broadcasts will be available on SNY and NBC Sports in Washington and Philadelphia. ESPN+ will carry the game nationwide in the USA, while those in Canada can watch on GameTV. All those outside the USA can access the live stream on the MLR Facebook page.
RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK
1 James Rochford, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 3 Paddy Ryan, 4 Trevor Cassidy, 5 Nate Brakeley, 6 John Quill, 7 James Denise, 8 Ross Deacon, 9 Mike Petri (capt.), 10 Cathal Marsh, 11 Connor Wallace-Sims, 12 Will Leonard, 13 Mark O’Keeffe, 14 Chris Mattina, 15 Ben Foden
Replacements: 16 Mike Brown, 17 Anthony Parry, 18 Callum Mackintosh, 19 Matt Wirken, 20 Matt Hughston, 21 Marcus Walsh, 22 Mike St. Claire, 23 Luke Hume
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 2 AJ Quattrin, 3 Morgan Mitchell, 4 Mike Sheppard, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Lucas Rumball (co-capt.), 7 Peter Milazzo, 8 Jack Nay, 9 Andrew Ferguson, 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Dan Moor (co-capt.), 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Gastón Mieres, 15 Shawn Windsor
Replacements: 16 Steven Ng, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Tom van Horne, 20 Kolby Francis, 21 Riley DiNardo, 22 Jamie Leveridge, 23 Johnny Sheridan
Date: Friday, March 15
Venue: MCU Park, Brooklyn
Kickoff: 19:00 local (16:00 Pacific)
Referee: Scott Green (USAR)
Assistants: Lex Weiner (USAR) & Jake Still (USAR)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook, GameTV, NBC Sports Washington/Philadelphia, SNY
