It was shocking news for the Canadian rugby community, in particular MLR fans and Arrows supporters, as both the Arrows and MLR announced they won’t participate in the 2024 MLR season. The MLR went even further announcing the “Toronto Arrows will cease operations, effectively immediately”.
It has been a long road back for Jamie Cudmore, he should have been national XVs coach by now but due to one ill advised tweet he has had to go the circular route. It’s a testament to his character that he’s forged ahead and it’s that type of perseverance and determination that he’ll pass on to academy players, and hopefully, one day, national team players.
A Message from the Toronto Arrows
It is with deep sadness that the Toronto Arrows organization joins the Webb Family in mourning the passing of our President and General Partner William “Bill” Webb after an illness he faced with courage and determination.
New England Free Jacks won the 2023 MLR title defeating San Diego Legion 25-24. There were 6 Canadians in the match, Andrew Quattrin, Conor Keys and Ben Lesage starting for New England, with Cole Keith and Spencer Jones on the bench. Michael Smith was on the bench for San Diego. New England had the largest number of Canadians on a USA based team roster, with 11 players used during the season.
We crunched the numbers to come up with an Editor’s pick of the BCRN Canadian MLR XXIII.
First we looked at the MLR First XV team of the week selections. These were the season results.
There’s one week left in the regular season and the only question that remains about post-season play is who will have home field advantage in the East in the first round of the playoff, Old Glory (38) or New York (42). Old Glory hosts Atlanta in the final weekend while New York visit Utah. A win by NY will guarantee home field advantage. The East conference winner New England will host the winner of Old Glory v New York, while in the West San Diego will host the winner of Seattle v Houston.
In the East New England (58) have clinched top spot and Old Glory (38) have clinched a playoff spot. New York (37) looks certain to claim the other playoff spot in the East with 2 weeks remaining. Atlanta (27) have a slim chance of catching NY. In the West it’s still a battle between San Diego (64) and Seattle (58) for top spot with San Diego having the lead. Seattle have clinched a playoff spot and just need a point in their remaining two games to ensure home field in the semi-finals. Houston (48) are leading the race for the final playoff spot with Utah (44) still in contention.
New England have secured 1st place in the east as they’re 20 points ahead of second place DC with only 3 games remaining. DC, NY, Atlanta and NOLA all still have a chance to claim the two remaining playoff spots. In the west it’s San Diego leading by 5 points over Seattle, with only those two teams in the running for top spot. Houston and Utah are competing for the last remaining playoff spot.
Little has changed in the standings from Week 13, San Diego and New England continue to lead their respective conferences. Seattle has closed the gap a bit on San Diego who now are only 5 points ahead, while Houston and Utah battle it out for the last playoff spot in the West. In the East, New England has increased the gap on top to 15 points with DC, NY and Atlanta in the hunt for the two remaining playoff spots.
Week 13 saw the largest number of Canadians participating, mostly due to the Toronto Arrows starting 13 Canadian players, a season high for them.