There were 32 Canada-eligible players in action in Week 3, 18 starters and 14 reserves. Some of the highlights, Ben Lesage scored a try in his third successive match for New England. Mitch Richardson, Nic Benn, Dewald Kotze scored in the Dallas win over Anthem. Mason Flesch was top ball carrier for Chicago and Matt Heaton topped the tackle stats in the LA match.
There were 18 Canadian players starting in Week 2 and 13 in the reserves, for a total 31 dressing on game day. That was down 5 from Week 1 where 36 of the 46 Canada-eligible players were in action. Ben Lesage and Andrew Quattrin scored tries for the second week in a row for New England, Shane O’Leary had the top stat for running metres for Miami in their match, Matt Heaton was top of the tackle stats for LA in their match.
There were 36 Canadian players in action in Week 1 with some making an impact on the score sheet and the stats department. Spencer Jones scored the first try by a Canadian in MLR 2024 in the Utah v Houston match but it was Dewald Kotze who lit up the scoreboard with a hat trick of tries in the Dallas v LA match, in that match Andrew Coe had two tries for LA and Mitch Richardson added a single for Dallas. In the New England v Anthem match Ben Lesage scored 2 tries and Andrew Quattrin added one for NE.
This year according to our calculations there are 47 Canadian players in the MLR rosters. There are 24 in the Western Conference and 23 in the Eastern Conference. The largest number of Canadian players are on the New England Free Jacks (12), there are 3 teams with 7 players LA, Dallas and Utah. There’s one team with no Canadians, Houston Sabercats.
World Rugby has announced a partnership with USA Rugby and MLR to launch a new MLR expansion club in Charlotte, North Carolina, named Anthem Rugby Carolina. The initial roster will “feature players from various MLR teams who are eligible to compete on behalf of the USA in international competition”.
Major League Rugby has announced its 2024 schedule which starts on March 2nd. The regular season is 18 weeks and then the top 8 teams will start the playoff round in July.
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.