MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE: WEEK 8

The Toronto Arrows were part of Major League Rugby history on Friday evening as the first ever regular season match in New York took place at Coney Island’s MCU Park. Complete with a baseball diamond on one end of the pitch and a roller coaster in the backdrop, the match delivered on all expectations and then some – with the exception of a Toronto win.

A last-gasp try from US Eagles flanker John Quill gave Rugby United New York the 24-21 result, much to the delight of the partisan crowd. It was a thrilling match from star to finish with the two expansion sides evenly matched and determined to come away victorious.

Two penalty goals from Sam Malcolm gave the Arrows a 6-0 lead after 10 minutes. Andrew Ferguson found a whole in the defense to score a try for Toronto but New York responded with two from Dylan Fawsitt, both from lineout drives with the second coming on the stroke of halftime to nudge the home side ahead by one point.

Toronto took the lead with a try from Guiseppe du Toit early in the second half, and Malcolm added his third penalty to make it a nine-point gap. New York finally got one back via Nate Brakeley in the 70th minute, with Quill’s last-minute effort a virtual carbon copy from close range.

The Arrows have the weekend off before returning for their last away game of the regular season. They’ll head to Salt Lake City where the Utah Warriors await at Zions Bank Stadium. Toronto are currently in 6th spot on the table, five points behind 5th-place San Diego, but have eight consecutive home games approaching to help their push for a playoff spot.

Eight Canadians were in action at Dell Diamond in the first of three games on Saturday. Austin Elite started well but ultimately fell short against the visiting Seattle Seawolves. Josh Larsen has taken over the vice-captaincy at Austin and started in the second row, with brother Travis Larsen at No8. Moe Abdelmonem had another impressive outing in his second MLR game, and new signing Aidan McMullan made his debut as a second half replacement on the wing. Doug Fraser has now received his visa clearance and could make his first MLR appearance this coming weekend.

George Barton and Brock Staller both started for the Seawolves. Barton was a physical force with ball in hand during his 47-minute run, while Staller landed four kicks at goal to bring his season total up to a league-leading 88 points. Phil Mack and Nakai Penny both made positive impacts as replacements in the second half.

It was a successful evening for three Canadians who played leading roles for the NOLA Gold in their 49-11 win over the Houston SaberCats. Eric Howard and Kyle Baillie each got their name on the scoring sheet with first half tries, while Hubert Buydens played the best part of an hour in the front row. The end of the game was tainted by an unsavory incident that saw two Houston players sent off for foul play, an avoidable scene in an otherwise entertaining match played in good spirit.

There were no Canadians playing during the late match on Saturday as the Glendale Raptors fought to a 28-all draw with the visiting San Diego Legion. Some have called it the game of the season and while that is up for debate, it was certainly a memorable encounter with twists and turns provided from both. JP du Plessis would score in the 80th minute for San Diego, with Joe Pietersen’s sideline conversion splitting the uprights to salvage a tie.

One Canadian did, in fact, suit up for the game at Infinity Park but he was not a player. Edmonton’s Robin Kaluzniak was busy on the sidelines as an assistant referee and came away with positive reviews after correctly identifying a yellow card offense during the second half. Kaluzniak is one of two Canadian national panel officials assigned to MLR this season, the other Moe Chaudhry, who took charge of the Week 5 match in Austin.

This week features a rare Thursday-evening match between the Houston SaberCats and Utah Warriors. NOLA Gold will play Austin Elite on Saturday, with Rugby United New York hosting the Glendale Raptors on Sunday. Each will be live streamed for Canadian viewers on the official MLR Facebook page.

WEEK 9 SCHEDULE

Utah Warriors at Houston SaberCats

Thursday, March 21

5:30pm PT, 8:30pm ET

Austin Elite at NOLA Gold

Saturday, March 23

Noon PT, 3pm ET

Glendale Raptors at Rugby United New York

Sunday, March 24

11am PT, 2pm ET