TORONTO — The Toronto Arrows will take on Major League Rugby's best Sunday when they host the San Diego Legion.
Toronto beat the Legion 27-20 when the teams met in San Diego on March 10, rallying from a 17-point deficit with 24 unanswered points. San Diego (9-2-1) has not lost since, going 5-0-1.
Chris Silverthorn, the Arrows director of rugby, has made three changes to the starting lineup that beat defending champions, the Seattle Seawolves 29-7 last Sunday. Flanker John Moonlight slots into the pack with scrum half Jamie Mackenzie and fullback Theo Sauder starting in the backs.
"Any time you have an opportunity to take on the top team in the league, you look forward to making the most of it," Silverthorn said in a statement. "San Diego have put together a very impressive season and are in top form right now, but we've beaten them once so far this year, and we'll look to do it again on Sunday."
The Arrows (6-5-0) stand sixth in the league after recording two straight wins. The top four in the nine-team league make the playoffs.
"It's a logjam at the top of the standings, and the race for playoff positions is incredibly tight,” said Silverthorn. "Every single point is valuable, which means the margin for error is getting smaller and smaller.
"We’ll need a big performance on Sunday, but we're looking forward to getting a boost from our fans at our first game at Lamport Stadium."
The Arrows played their first three home games at York Alumni Stadium.
Toronto's matchday 23 features 12 internationals — 11 of whom are Canadian — with a combined cap count of 212.
Toronto Arrows Lineup
Rob Brouwer, Andrew Quattrin, Morgan Mitchell, Mike Sheppard, Paul Ciulini, John Moonlight, Peter Milazzo, Marcello Wainwright, Jamie Mackenzie, Sam Malcolm, Dan Moor, Guiseppe du Toit, Spencer Jones, Gaston Mieres, Theo Sauder
Replacements
Steven Ng, Pat Lynott, Cole Keith, Tom Van Horne, Kolby Francis, Andrew Ferguson, Pat Parfrey, Avery Oitomen
The Canadian Press
