Toronto Arrows Re-Signs Cole Keith Through 2022

The Toronto Arrows re-signed Canada National Team prop, Cole Keith, through the 2022 Major League Rugby season.

Cole (Arrow #3) played in all five matches in the truncated 2020 season and has made 18 appearances over his two seasons with the club. The young forward has made 64 carries, 289 carry meters, 117 tackles (88% completion), and 11 dominant tackles throughout the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

During 2019 he played 13 games, including the MLR semifinals. The 22-year-old is from Sussex, New Brunswick is 6’0″, and weighs 255 lbs.

Cole went to Sussex High School in New Brunswick and played for the Belleisle Rovers, the Under-16 and Under-18s Spruce, and for the Atlantic Rock provincial team.

In 2016 moved to Victoria, British Columbia, and joined James Bay Athletic Club and became part of the Canadian Centralized Group. In 2016 he played for Canada’s Under-20s in the World Rugby Junior Trophy competition qualifier against the U.S. In 2017 and 2018 he played for Canada A in the Americas Pacific Challenge in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Cole had his debut for the Senior National Team against Chile at Langford, British Columbia on Feruary11, 2017 in the Americas Rugby Championship. His last test match was against Tonga on August 8, 2019.

Cole has 16 caps and has started for Canada 5 times. He helped Canada win the 2019 Rugby World Cup Repechage, a round-robin competition with Kenya, Germany, Hong Kong, and Canada for the last remaining RWC 2019 spot and was selected for the final 2019 RWC roster for Japan. In Japan, he played against Italy in Fukuoka on 26 September and his last test was against New Zealand at Oita on 2 October.

Toronto Arrows Comments

Arrows Vice President and General Manager Mark Winokur said that “Cole had a very strong start to the 2020 season. He ramped up his fitness and it showed throughout the park. Even though he is very young by front-row standards, Cole was able to control and dominate more experienced players across from him.”