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The Toronto Arrows have announced the signing of three players for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. Scrumhalf Cole Brown, prop Lolani Faleiva, and No8 Taitusi Vikilani complete the team’s roster. The latter’s history includes a criminal conviction and time spent behind bars.
Brown is a graduate of the Arrows academy and toured Portugal with the Canada u20s in 2020. He was a provincial university All-Star with the McMaster Marauders and is a product of the Ajax Wanderers club. He joins Andrew Ferguson and Ross Braude as scrumhalf options for the Arrows.
Faleiva, 22, is a direct replacement for Sione Fa’alelei, who has opted out of making the move from Australia to MLR. The new addition arrives from Hawke’s Bay on a recommendation by new Arrows scrum coach Francisco Deformes. At 6’4″ (1.92m) and 285lbs (130kg) he is an imposing figure who has also played at No8 during his development in New Zealand.
Vikilani is the older brother of current Arrows and Canada back row Siaki Vikilani. The 25-year-old from the Burnaby Lake club turned heads as a 19-year-old in the 2016 Canadian Rugby Championship, but a violent incident from the previous year saw him sentenced to a six month (less a day) jail term in 2017.
After attending a party in February 2015, an intoxicated Vikilani and another man engaged in a fight with a group of others outside a Burnaby SkyTrain station. A woman nearby recorded the incident on her phone, and when Vikilani confronted and then assaulted the woman, her companion intervened. He was stabbed by the man accompanying Vikilani and later died of his wounds.
The man convicted of the stabbing was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison, Vikilani received three years probation on top of his incarceration. His lawyer stated at the time, “Alcohol changed his character that night, but he hasn’t had a drink since and I doubt very much he’ll ever have a drink again.”
When the Pacific Pride – Rugby Canada’s centralized development program – was revived in 2019, Vikilani was included in the squad. He recently competed in the Coastal Cup competition.
The Arrows have released a statement addressing Vikilani’s past:
“As a teenager, Taitusi made a mistake. He took responsibility for his wrongdoing, and paid his debt to society. That debt has helped shape him into the young man he is today; someone who is genuinely remorseful about the pain he has caused, has learned from his transgression, and has earned a second chance.
“For the past several years, Taitusi has been playing high-performance rugby as part of his rehabilitation into society, including spending the past three years as part of Rugby Canada’s national development academy. Throughout this time, Taitusi has been a model athlete, displaying personal growth through his contrition and commitment to becoming a better person.
“In conducting our due diligence prior to signing Taitusi, members of our senior staff spoke with several of Taitusi’s current and former coaches and teammates. Through dozens of conversations, the feedback we received was consistent across the board: Taitusi is passionate, hard working, and has demonstrated strong character. He has, by all accounts, been a respected teammate both on and off the pitch.
“Taitusi’s mistake will always remain with him, and he does not hide from this. However, this should not preclude Taitusi from being granted an opportunity to rejoin society, especially based on his personal development over the last many years. We believe Taitusi possesses the values required to be a player for the Toronto Arrows, and that he’ll be an upstanding member of our organization.”
As a result of his conviction, Vikilani is unable to enter the USA and therefore will not compete in Toronto’s road games. He will be available for all home matches and could make his professional debut when the Arrows host the LA Giltinis at Starlight Stadium in Langford on February 11.
