The Toronto Arrows host the Seattle Seawolves on Sunday, April 28 at York Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 pm ET and tickets are still available. The match may be viewed on ESPN+, Game TV, or on Root Sports.
The Toronto Arrows enter the match in sixth place with a 5-5 record but hope that by playing at home for the team’s remaining matches that this will lead to enough wins to propel the team into the playoffs. The Seawolves are in third place with an 8-3 record and will look to win as the top four MLR teams are in a tight race.
Match Comments
Toronto Arrows Director of Rugby Chris Silverthorn has made four changes in the starters with Morgan Mitchell at tighthead prop, Andrew Ferguson at scrumhalf, Spencer Jones at outside center, and Gaston Mieres at fullback. Pat Lynott and Tom Van Horne are on the matchday roster, along with Canadian international Pat Parfrey, who will make his MLR debut.
Seattle Seawolves Head Coach Richie Walker has made three changes with Taylor Krumrei at lock, JP Smith at flyhalf, and Roland Suniula at outside center. It is a special day for the Suniula brothers as Roland joins Shalom as centers. Scott Dean and Joey Iosefa return to the roster as reserves.
The Arrows have access to their internationals and are a greater challenge for opponents as they play at home the rest of the regular season. The Seawolves have been on a roll lately and will challenge early.
The Arrows counterattack quickly and are the second-ranked attack team, despite maintaining 46% of possession and 43% of the territory, while Seattle is at 50% and 52%, respectively. The line speed of the Seawolves makes it difficult to penetrate the wide channel and the Seawall tightens as the team defends close to in-goal. The Arrows have penetrated it before and will likely again as the match is expected to be a high scoring one again.
Both teams are strong in the scrum, while the Seawolves have a slight edge in the lineouts. It will be a physical match and the team that is able to go through phases, utilize tactical kicking effectively will likely win. Both teams are among the least penalized in the league.
Both teams need a win. The Arrows could fall out of playoff contention if the top four teams continue to win if they can’t keep pace and secure bonus point wins. A win over the Seawolves would help the team climb the points ladder. The Seawolves, meanwhile, want to keep pace with the other contenders. A win would help to place greater pressure on the Arrows in their attempt for a playoff spot.
Squads with Player Article Links
Toronto Arrows: 1 Rob Brouwer 2 AJ Quattrin 3 Morgan Mitchell 4 Mike Sheppard 5 Paul Ciulini 6 Lucas Rumball 7 Peter Milazzo 8 Marcello Wainwright 9 Andrew Ferguson10 Sam Malcolm 11 Dan Moor (C) 12 Guiseppe du Toit 13 Spencer Jones 14 Leandro Leivas 15 Gastón Mieres 16 Steven Ng 17 Pat Lynott18 Cole Keith 19 Tom Van Horne 20 Kolby Francis 21 Jamie Mackenzie 22 Patrick Parfrey 23 Theo Sauder + Director of Rugby, Chris Silverthorn
Seattle Seawolves: 1 Kellen Gordon 2 Stephan Coetzee 3 Tim Metcher 4 Taylor Krumrei 5 Apisai Naikatini 6 Brad Tucker 7 Nakai Penny 8 Riekert Hattingh (C) 9 Phil Mack 10 JP Smith 11 Sequoyah Burke-Combs 12 Shalom Suniula 13 Roland Suniula 14 Brock Staller 15 Mat Turner 16 Dan Trierweiler 17 Djustice Sears-Duru 18 Ryan Youngman19 Jérémy Lenaerts 20 Eric Duechle 21 Scott Dean 22 Joey Iosefa 23 Dion Crowder + Head Coach Richie Walker
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