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Saturday signals the end of a long and frustrating season for both the Toronto Arrows and NOLA Gold at York Lions Stadium. Both teams have struggled with injuries and are looking ahead to next season, but will want to end the year on a winning note.
The Arrows celebrated their ‘all-Canadian’ XV in the build-up to last week’s match against San Diego, but on the pitch it was the same result with 43 unanswered points conceded in the second half. Their last – and only – victory of the season was back in March, but Pete Smith will again leave some of his best players on the bench.
There is no sign of Lucas Rumball with Mike Sheppard handed the captaincy. Mason Flesch moves to the flank with Hank Stevenson making his second MLR start. Jack McRogers and Isaac Salmon replace the injured Tyler’s Wong and Rowland in the front row. Former senior academy No8 Matt Fish could make his pro debut as a replacement.
Ross Braude and Sam Malcolm are reserves once again with Will Grant continuing his partnership with Peter Nelson. The only changes to the starting backline are on the wings where Fabian Goodall and Kobe Faust get the nod ahead of Dawson Fatoric and D’Shawn Bowen.
Kane Thompson has taken a different approach with his Gold. After an unconvincing win over the Jackals in Texas, this will feature a slightly stronger lineup with three key players back in the squad for the final run-out of the campaign.
Jarred Adams replaces Doc Irey at tighthead prop, and though Liam Hallam-Eames is ruled out there is a welcome return for Tom Florence on the flank. Malcolm May shifts to lock with William Waguespack continuing in the reserves.
Second-overall draft pick Sebastiano Villani is given his first pro start at with no sign of Luke Campbell or Damian Stevens. Rory Edwards will provide scrumhalf backup. The 29-year-old is American-born but emigrated to Western Australia at the age of 12 and spent several years playing for UWA and Cottesloe in the premier club competition.
Ideal conditions are on the forecast which should bring a strong crowd. They will be hoping the Arrows can avoid the dreaded Wooded Spoon, which will likely be theirs if they can’t find victory. On paper NOLA are the stronger side with the exception of their inexperienced halfbacks. Take the visitors as favorites, with the question perhaps of their motivation in a game that ultimately has little meaning.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 6pm Central, 4pm Pacific. Canadian viewers can watch on TSN 2 with a local broadcast on YurView Louisiana, and The Rugby Network streaming for those located elsewhere.
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Connor Grindal, 2 Jack McRogers, 3 Isaac Salmon, 4 Hank Stevenson, 5 Mike Sheppard (capt.), 6 Mason Flesch, 7 James O’Neill, 8 Travis Larsen, 9 Will Grant, 10 Peter Nelson, 11 Fabian Goodall, 12 Liam Bowman, 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Kobe Faust, 15 Shane O’Leary
Replacements: 16 Gene Syminton, 17 Ramón Ayarza, 18 Conan O’Donnell, 19 Matt Fish, 20 Owain Ruttan, 21 Ross Braude, 22 Dawson Fatoric, 23 Sam Malcolm
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Jarred Adams, 4 Cam Dolan (capt.), 5 Malcolm May, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Tom Florence, 8 Maciu Koroi, 9 Sebastiano Villani, 10 Reece Botha, 11 Dougie Fife, 12 Ross Depperschmidt, 13 JP du Plessis, 14 Harley Wheeler, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Pat O’Toole, 17 Kevin Sullivan, 18 Dino Waldren, 19 William Waguespack, 20 Alex Lopeti, 21 Rory Edwards, 22 Jack Webster, 23 Kenneth Jinkins
Date: Saturday, June 17
Venue: York Lions Stadium, Toronto
Kickoff: 19:00 local (16:00 Pacific, 18:00 Central)
Broadcasts: The Rugby Network, TSN 2, YurView Louisiana
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Clint Lemkus (Canada) & Stephen Stothers-Robertson (Canada)
TMO: Greg Gilliam (USA)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2023-04-30 – NOLA Gold 40, Toronto Arrows 24 (The Gold Mine)
2022-04-16 – Toronto Arrows 53, NOLA Gold 36 (York Lions Stadium)
2022-02-19 – NOLA Gold 23, Toronto Arrows 24 (The Gold Mine)
2021-06-19 – Toronto Arrows 12, NOLA Gold 18 (Lupo Family Field)
2021-05-02 – NOLA Gold 22, Toronto Arrows 14 (The Gold Mine)
2019-04-07 – Toronto Arrows 31, NOLA Gold 35 (York Alumni Field)
2019-01-26 – NOLA Gold 36, Toronto Arrows 31 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
