The Toronto Arrows acquired Canadian international Kyle Baillie from the NOLA Gold in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft. The 30-year-old lock/back row (31 in April), who is from Summerside, Prince Edward Island, is 6’5″ and 245 lbs.
Last season, Kyle played 465 minutes in 8 starts, made 39 tackles (92.9% completion), 163 carry meters on 39 carries, 145 ruck arrivals, 24 lineout takes, three offloads, two tackle-breaks, and two lineout steals, while leading his side to a third-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
He played 276 minutes in 4 matches as a starter during the Covid-19 shorted 2020 season and was the team’s captain. In 2019 he played 523 minutes in 8 starts and scored one try. He carried the ball 50 times for 311 meters, had 2 line breaks, 2 tackle breaks, 2 offloads, and made 82 tackles.
Kyle played with the Ohio Aviators Tens at the World Tens Series in Bermuda in November 2020 and started at lock for NOLA Gold against the Houston SaberCats in their 2021 preseason match.
Baillie graduated from Three Oaks High school and played rugby for the Axemen, winning Rugby PEI top junior athlete honors in 2009. He has played club rugby for the Castaway Wanderers, the Edmonton Druids, St. Albert RFC, Westshore RFC, and the Halifax Tars.
He also played representative rugby for Atlantic Rock and the Prairie Wolf Pack in the Canadian Rugby Championship.
In 2015 he began his professional rugby career with Eastern Suburbs in Sydney, Australia. In 2016 he played with the Ohio Aviators, scoring six tries in his six starts. In January 2017 he had a trial with the Saracens in the English Premiership but dislocated his shoulder in the LV Cup, thus missing out on a long-term contract. In May 2017 he signed with the London Scottish in the Green King IPA Championship for the 2017-2018 season. In the Summer of 2017, he went to New Zealand ahead of the 2017 tests for Canada.
Baillie has played for Canada A in the Americas Rugby Championship in 2014, the Americas Pacific Challenge, and the Pacific Nations Cup. He also played for the Canada Senior team, debuting on February 13, 2016, at the Americas Rugby Championship against the U.S. He has 33 caps and has started 26 matches while scoring three tries. He played in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and his most recent test was against Portugal at Lisbon on November 6, 2021.
Baillie was also part of Canada‘s 2019 Pacific Nations Cup squad that played the USA, Fiji, and Tonga prior to pre-Rugby World Cup matches against Leinster, the USA, and the BC All-Stars.
Toronto Arrows Comments
“We are very excited to welcome Kyle back north of the border and to have him serve as a big part of our first season back in town since 2019,” said Mark Winokur, Toronto Arrows Chief Operating Officer, and General Manager. “KB brings skill, size, and leadership, and obviously has a lot of close friends in the shed, so bringing him in was a perfect fit for us.”
“We’d like to thank Ryan Fitzgerald and the Gold for working on this player-first transaction with us. We can’t wait to get going with our 2022 roster.”
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