Toronto Arrows & Rob Brouwer

The Toronto Arrows announced on November 6, 2018, the first 12 of their Major League Rugby signings for 2019. One of them was 35-year-old loosehead prop Rob Brouwer, who is from Lindsay, Ontario. He is 6’3″, weighs 260 pounds and has the distinction of being the oldest Canadian Rugby National Team player to make his debut at 33-year and 72 days old.

Rob grew up in Lindsay, a town 2 hours northeast of Toronto and farm life impacted the time that he had on activities outside of school. His senior year in high school, he began to play rugby with Lindsay Rugby Club and continued to play with the club since then. He has been the President of the Club and has been involved in all aspects of the club. He lives in the town and is a teacher there.

After high school, Rob attended McMaster University and continued to play rugby.

Rob elaborated what rugby has meant for him in an article by Brock Smith saying in a speech at Lindsay’s minis (under-8 to under-12 players) banquet that “rugby has been the biggest positive influence on my life in so many different ways.”

“Most notably, Brouwer met his future wife, Hannah, at a club function. They welcomed their first child, Urban, last year, and are expecting a second early next year.”

“When I think about the most important things in my life, after my wife and son and our families, it’s the club. It’s a clichéd thing, but our club is like a family. It becomes part of the fabric of what you do.

“I have a lot of pride in my club, so when I play for Canada or Ontario, I’m proud to say I’m from Lindsay, and that Lindsay is my home club. I want to represent our club as best I can on the national and international stages.”

Rob has played for the Ontario Blues since its inception in 2009 and in many Canadian Rugby Championships. He has been the team’s captain and earned Rugby Ontario’s Senior Provincial Player of the Year award in 2016.

He played for the Canada ‘A’ team for inaugural America’s Rugby Championship. He also played for Canada A that same year in the Americas Pacific Challenge, as well as in 2017.

During the 2016 Americas Rugby Championship, he debuted for Canada against Brazil in Langford, B.C. and has earned 9 caps, his last also against Brazil on March 3, 2017, at Pacaembu, Brazil.

Rob was part of the Ontario Arrows squad during the Spring MLR exhibition season in 2018 and now joins the newly named Toronto Arrows for the 2019 MLR season as the first team from Canada in the nine-team League. He also played this Fall in exhibition matches.