The Toronto Arrows Rugby Football Club is pleased to announce that TSN will return as the team’s exclusive Canadian media partner for the 2022 Major League Rugby season.
The partnership will once again see Canada’s Sports Leader deliver the club’s 16 regular season games in 2022, as well as potential MLR Championship Series matches, to TSN and TSN Direct subscribers through the network’s suite of linear and digital platforms, including its national television feeds, TSN.ca, and the TSN app.
“We are very excited to welcome TSN back as our broadcast partner for 2022,” said Mark Winokur, Toronto Arrows Chief Operating Officer and General Manager. “The extension of our partnership with Canada’s premier sports network allows us to continue showcasing our compelling athletes, coaches, and sport to Canadians from coast to coast to coast. After having to spend two seasons and more than a thousand days away from our incredible fans in Toronto, TSN’s expansive coverage of Arrows rugby is perfectly suited to helping tell the story of our long-awaited return home to playing matches in Canada once again.”
“We’re thrilled to return to the pitch to showcase the Toronto Arrows,” said Shawn Redmond, VP, Bell Media Sports. “By highlighting the burgeoning talent on Canada’s own professional union team, we’ll give Canadians nationwide the chance to follow the team all season long.”
The Arrows – Canada’s first and only professional rugby union team – will begin their fourth campaign in North America’s top-flight professional rugby league with a road match against the Seattle Seawolves on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022.
The following week, the club will take on reigning MLR champions Los Angeles in a home-designated fixture played at Starlight Stadium in Langford, British Columbia. This cross-conference clash, slated for Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, will mark the first time a regular season MLR match has been played in a Canadian province outside of Ontario.
The Arrows will host 2021 MLR Championship finalists Rugby ATL for the team’s true home opener on Saturday, Apr. 2, 2022, representing the club’s first regular season game in Toronto in 1,035 days.
The team will play its seven 2022 Toronto-based home matches at the 4,000+-seat York Lions Stadium.
During the 2022 season, the club will compete in 16 regular season matches over 18 weeks between Feb. 5 and June 5, with 10 scheduled for Saturdays, 4 on Sundays, and one apiece on a Thursday and Friday.
The team’s bye weeks fall in Rounds 5 and 13.
The upcoming MLR season will feature 13 teams competing throughout North America over 18 weeks. The conclusion of the regular season will bring the MLR Championship Series, with the top three seeds from each conference qualifying for the post-season.
Conference semi-finals will be played over the weekend of June 11-12, Conference finals will be contested over the weekend of June 18-19, and the MLR Championship Final will be held over the weekend of June 25-26.