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Canadian rugby has taken a hammer blow after news that the country’s only professional team, the Toronto Arrows, will not be continuing after five seasons of Major League Rugby. Rumors began circulating late Sunday night and by Monday evening the worst outcome had been confirmed.
In a statement, Arrows GM Tim Matthews says the club could not ultimately overcome the loss of Bill Webb, their co-founder and majority owner who died in August. ARN understands that new backers appeared to be in place until late last week, when the most significant of those pulled out of the deal. The league says that ‘all avenues’ were considered but no solution was found to keep the club from folding.
A media release from MLR CEO Nic Benson insists the league remains in good health.
“We’re deeply grateful to the leadership of the Toronto Arrows who have cared so deeply about supporting and growing the game of rugby in Canada. Our immediate focus is on doing right by the Club and its players, as operations wind down. While this news is unfortunate, and we feel for all individuals associated with the Arrows organization, the health of MLR remains strong and we look forward to exploring options to bring a team back to Canada in the future.”
The Arrows were co-founded by Webb and Mark Winokur as an elite extension on the successful Ontario Blues provincial program. After a trial run in 2018, they formally joined MLR in 2019 and made the postseason in their maiden campaign. A strong start to the 2020 season was ended abruptly by the pandemic, which then forced them to spent the entire 2021 season hosted in Atlanta. This past season was the most challenging to date as the club slumped to the bottom of the overall standings.
As it now stands MLR will proceed with 12 teams in the coming season with three divisions. Atlanta will relocate to Los Angeles and there is a new time in Miami. A previous team in LA and the Austin, Texas, franchise were shut down after the 2022 season after a dispute with owner Adam Gilchrist. The Glendale Raptors, later rebranded to Colorado, withdrew after the truncated 2020 season.
The Arrows statement in full can be seen below:
