The Toronto Arrows signed Andrew Norton for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 31-year-old flyhalf and inside center (32 in April) is 5’11” and 185 lbs.
Andrew is from Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and attended Pual Roos High School from 2004-2005, before transferring to Maritzburg College from 2006-2008. He also played rugby with the Sharks Academy from 2009-2011, playing with the U19s and U21s.
Then he began playing for the University of Cape Town, playing in the Varsity Cup competition from 2012-2014. The University did not have his desired academic program, so he attended Stellenbosch University from 2012-2015, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sport and Fitness Administration and Management. He also completed a Master of Business Administration Degree from Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh Business School, where studied through distance education from 2017-2019 while playing professional rugby in Spain.
Andrew played rugby professionally in Spain’s Division de Honor for six years, making 113 appearances. From 2015-2019 he played with Complutense Cisneros, and from 2019-2021 with Aparejadores Burgos.
He also played in three rugby tests for Los Leones, as he was eligible to represent Spain based on residency. He made his debut in the Rugby European Championship in a 16-14 win over Russia at Madrid on 10 February 2019 and then played against Georgia and Germany.
In 2021 Andrew moved to Ontario for work and played rugby locally with Balmy Beach Rugby Club in Toronto. He also played with the Arrows XV against the Atlantic Selects at York Lions Stadium on October 16 in a 57-10 win, in which Andrew scored a try. It was the first time in 867 days since 2019 that the Arrows played a home match.
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