The Toronto Arrows added Henry ‘Hank” Stevenson on loan from the Utah Warriors for the remainder of the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 22-year-old lock is 6’5″ and 250 lbs.
Hank was signed by the Dallas jackals for the 2021 MLR season, but following the team’s postponement on league entry until 2022, Hank was available in the Supplemental Draft but was not drafted. This made him a free agent and he signed with the Utah Warriors, who are building a younger team.
Henry is from Toronto, Canada, and began playing rugby in the seventh grade with the Toronto Nomads Rugby Club. He attended Royal St. George’s College and in 2017 he represented Canada at the Auckland School 7s tournament in New Zealand. The team was coached by Fred Asselin and comprised of 16-18-year-old players. He also played for the Ontario Blues U19s against the USA High School All-Americans in 2017, as well as taking part in the Canadian Maple Leafs 7s National Development Program and was selected to represent Canada at the Youth Commonwealth Games, which were held in Nassau, Bahamas. Henry said, “it was a life-changing experience and solidified my dream to become a professional rugby player.”
Henry progressed through the Ontario Blues program and played for Canada’s Maple Leafs Sevens development program, and won a National Sevens Championship.
He enrolled at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario in 2019 and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. While there he played rugby and toured with the Canada U20s to Portugal and Spain and also helped his team win the North American Invitational 7s Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was part of the extended U20s Trophy squad but was not included in the final Trophy competition.
Henry also played for the Ontario Blues against Old Glory during the 2019 DC exhibition season.
Henry Stevenson 2019-2020 Highlights
Toronto Arrows Comments
The Toronto Arrows are pleased to announce the signings of Ireland under-20 grad Ronan Foley, French-Canadian prop Alexandre Janlin, and Ontario Blues-developed lock Hank Stevenson for the remainder of the 2021 Major League Rugby season.
“Challenging situations make for creative solutions, and we are very happy to have found some Canadian talent that can help us down the stretch,” said Mark Winokur, Toronto Arrows Chief Operating Officer, and General Manager. “Alex, Ronan, and Henry are all keen to dive into the team environment and help out, and we can’t ask for anything more. It helps that all three are talented Canadian players who will make us more competitive over the last quarter of the season.”
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