Sam's playing top rugby in the US

Sam Malcolm playing for Manawatu last year.
PHOTO / Getty Images

Straight as an arrow!

And in true Johnny Wilkinson style it was a dropped goal that took the Toronto Arrows to the playoffs in their inaugural season in the North American Major League professional rugby - and the hero of the moment was Whanganui High School star, Sam Malcolm!

In a tense game against Rugby United New York which saw the Toronto Arrows overcome an eightpoint second half deficit, it was first-five-eighth Sam who, with three minutes to play, coolly moved to a position behind the Arrow’s halfback and slotted a dropped goal to give the Arrows a lead which they held on to and which guaranteed them a playoff spot against the reigning champions from Seattle.

At the after-match function I was able to chat for a few minutes with Sam as the team celebrated their win and I asked him of his career to date. From school Sam went on to Massey and became involved both with Manawatu rugby and the Hurricanes under 20s development side. He has also trialled with the under 20s.

With the Arrows season now over after a playoff loss in Seattle the team can look back at a very successful inaugural season in the league. After a slow beginning to their season they reeled off seven consecutive wins to complete the season with an 11-5 record. The early season games were primarily played on the road due to Toronto’s winter with the team travelling widely across the continent to such ‘outposts’ as San Diego, California and Austin, Texas but it was the home successes that catapulted the team to third place overall in the 12-team league. Much of their success was due to the “Kiwi Kontingent” of Spencer Jones, Morgan Mitchell and Sam.

The league this season had 12 teams but expansion is on the horizon with the possibility of three or even four more teams for the 2020 season.

The new teams will be based in Boston and possibly Washington while of this year’s teams the team based in Austin will not be involved next season.

The hope is to divide the league into two eight-team divisions eventually which would save a lot of crosscontinent travel and alleviate the costs for the teams involved.

The standard of rugby is as good as you would see in Heartland league and can only improve further — and this will aid immensely in the recruitment and development of the sport in both Canada and the Ewe Ess. As rugby fans will have noted, the Ewe Ess has become very competitive in the sevens in both the women’s and men’s leagues and the development of the 15-aside game is on the rise.

Congratulations to Sam and well-done Arrows!

A Whisper From NA with Peter Hall
Whanganui Midweek 19/6/19