Toronto Arrows

Toronto Arrows R.F.C. was a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that played in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team was an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and was funded by a group of private investors and supporters. They are currently on hiatus following the 2023 season.

2017–2018: Ontario Arrows
The team was founded as the Ontario Arrows in 2017 with the intent of joining the Major League Rugby (MLR) competition for the 2019 season. The Arrows debuted September 9, 2017, in a match against the Glendale Merlins losing 41–7.

In spring 2018, the Arrows played a six-game exhibition schedule against the Houston SaberCats, Rugby United New York, Utah Warriors, and Boston's Mystic River Rugby Club. The schedule was extended to include games against the Canada Selects. The Arrows' 2018 home opener was a decided victory over the Mystic River Rugby Club.

In July 2018, the Arrows announced that MLR had granted them exclusive rights to negotiate for a franchise in Ontario. In November 2018, MLR announced that the Arrows had joined the league for the 2019 season. At the same time, the Ontario Arrows changed their name to the Toronto Arrows. The ownership group is led by Bill Webb, partner and chief investment officer at Waypoint Investment Partners. The ownership group also includes the former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Burke, Boat Rocker Sports (a division of Boat Rocker Media), Duncan McNaughton, an assistant coach with the Canadian women's team and the Queen's University men, Kevin Reed of AR3 Capital, and John Ferraro of Mass Marketing Inc. As MLR operates as a single entity league, the ownership group purchased an equity stake in the league, at the cost of a few million dollars, and received operating rights to a franchise in the Toronto market.

2019–2021: First MLR seasons
In the 2019 season the team split its home games between Alumni Field of York University and Lamport Stadium in its inaugural 2019 MLR season.

After playing only five matches in 2020, the Arrows ceased play, along with the rest of the league, as the COVID-19 pandemic began. Due to border crossing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2021 season, the Arrows temporarily relocated to Marietta, Georgia, to share Rugby ATL's facilities at Lupo Family Field.

2022–2023: Final seasons
For the 2022 season, the Arrows hosted their game against the LA Giltinis at Starlight Stadium in Langford, British Columbia, marking the first MLR regular season game to be held in the province. The remainder of their home games were played at the renovated York Lions Stadium, over 1,000 days after the team's previous home game in Toronto.

On August 30, 2023, the Arrows announced the passing of president and general partner, Bill Webb. Bill Webb's passing resulted in an outpouring of support from across the rugby world, including players, teams, leagues and foundations. On November 27, 2023, it was announced that the Arrows would not compete in the 2024 MLR season.

Broadcasts
For 2019, home games were shown on GameTV. Lincoln Rose and Kit McConnico were the on-air talent.

For 2020, TSN was announced as the Arrows broadcast partner. Following the cancellation of the 2020 Major League Rugby season, TSN produced a 10-episode series, showing 60-minute highlights from chosen Arrows games, called "Arrows in an Hour."

Head coaches

 * 🇨🇦 Chris Silverthorn (2019–2021)
 * 🇦🇺 Peter Smith (2021–2023)
 * 🇦🇺 Stephen Meehan (2023)

Captains

 * Lucas Rumball, Dan Moor (2019) (co-captains)
 * Dan Moor, Lucas Rumball (2020) (co-captains)
 * Lucas Rumball, Ben LeSage (2021) (co-captains)
 * Mike Sheppard (2022)
 * Lucas Rumball, Sam Malcolm (Vice captains)
 * Lucas Rumball (2023)
 * Sam Malcolm, Mike Sheppard (Vice captains)

Team staff
, the members of the team staff are:


 * Peter Smith — Head Coach
 * Rob Howley — Attack Coach
 * Francois Ratier – Defence & Skills Coach
 * Francisco Deformes — Forwards Coach
 * Cory Hector — Arrows Academy Director & Head Coach
 * Alex Lee – Head of Performance
 * Shane Cahill – Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach
 * Richard Owen – Head Performance Analyst
 * Neil MacDougall – Team Manager
 * Scott Shannon — Head Athletic Therapist
 * Chris Chan – Senior Team Physiotherapist
 * Terri Jones – Academy Athletic Therapist
 * Dr. John Gillis – Head Team Physician
 * Chris Silverthorn – Director of Player Development

Front office

 * Bill Webb – President and General Partner
 * Tim Matthews – Vice President and General Manager
 * Rahul Srinivasan – Chief Commercial Officer
 * Mark Winokur – Co-Founder and Special Advisor

2018 season (exhibition)
All games in the 2018 season were exhibition games and did not count in the league standings.

2020 season
On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 19, 2020, MLR announced that they had cancelled the season and all remaining games for 2020.

2021 season
Due to the Canadian federal government closing the border between the USA and Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Toronto relocated to Marietta, Georgia for the 2021 season. Although intended to be for the start of the season, the ongoing pandemic meant that all of the Arrow's “home” games were played at Lupo Family Field, sharing the ground with Rugby ATL for the season.