YORKTON - It’s happy days for rugby fans in Canada as the 2023 MLR season kicks-off this week.
And that means the Toronto Arrows, the lone Canadian team in the MLR, will be back on the pitch.
“I’m really excited. It’s been a long off season,” offered Arrows head coach Peter Smith in a recent interview with Yorkton This Week.
Smith and the Arrows will be looking to build on a 2022 that saw the team on something of a rollercoaster in terms of results.
“There were times last year we were really, really good and other times really, really poor,” said Smith.
Part of the issue last season was an injury bug that often left the Arrows with a long list of players out of action.
Smith said staying healthy will be important this year.
“If we can keep some of our key guys on the pitches it will be an advantage,” said Smith.
That said injuries are typical in a sport as physical as rugby.
“It’s certainly not a sport you can hide, or stay away from the hits,” said Smith.
With the injuries and inconsistencies, the Arrows finished 2022 with an 8-8 record and fourth spot in the MLR East. They scored 414 points while allowing 390.
Now it’s a new season, and Smith says the Arrows will be a different team. “We’ve had a really good preseason tourney block,” said Smith.
That preseason pitch time will be important in terms of jelling a decidedly different roster together.
“There’s a lot of new faces to be honest,” said Smith, adding the team recruited with two main goals in mind.
The first thing the Arrows were looking to achieve was to add some size and overall physicality to the roster.
And then Smith said he wanted some added experience.
“We wanted to add a few older heads to the group,” he said.
Among the new faces for fans to watch for are Irish international Noel Reid, who arrives from the English Premiership side London Irish, with more than a decade of experience at the highest levels of European rugby.
Reid, 32, played for Ireland’s U20 side before making the jump to Leinster’s senior squad in 2011. He would spend eight years with the Dublin side, then signed a one-year deal with Leicester Tigers in 2019.
Also from Ireland prop Conan O’Donnell joins the Arrows.
O’Donnell, 26, arrives from New Zealand side Northland, where the forward has been plying his trade in the National Provincial Championship.
Nic Benn arrives from the Manly Marlins in Sydney, Australia. The 21-year-old outside center is Canadian-qualified through his mother, and lived in British Columbia for six years in his youth.
Then there is Chilean international hooker Ramon Ayarza.
Ayarza, 29, will arrive at the club having most recently featured for Soyaux Angouleme XV Charente, where the nine-year professional helped the French Nationale 1 side gain promotion to the Pro D2 following the 2021-2022 season.
Most recently the Arrows inked centre Tautalatasi Tasi.
The New Zealand-born, Australian-raised Tasi, 28, arrives at the club from Japanese side Tokyo Gas, where the midfielder helped lead the Top East League team to the 2022-2023 championship last month.
Overall, Smith said he likes the roster mix he is working with for 2023, adding a team in the MLR needs depth to deal with the rigors of a long season.
“It’s being able to rely on 30 plus guys,” he said.
Headed into the season Smith said he wants to concentrate on doing the little things right.
“It’s a simple game when you really look at it,” he said, adding a team need to be consistently “really good at a handful of things,” and success comes off that foundation.
This season, for the Arrows the good foundation will be based on being tougher to play, offered Smith.
“We’re a much physical team going into this year,” he promised.
The Arrows start the regular season in Atlanta Feb. 17, then head to New York to face the renamed Ironworkers on the 26th.
