TORONTO — The Toronto Arrows have re-signed New Zealand fly half Tayler Adams and four other players.
The Major League Rugby team has also brought Manuel Diana, Guiseppe du Toit, Leandro Leivas and Ben LeSage back into the fold for the 2021 season.
The 26-year-old Adams started all five matches in the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season, his first with the Arrows. The former Junior All Black came to Toronto after stints with Eastwood in Australia's Shute Shield and Southland in New Zealand's Mitre 10 Cup. He also had a brief spell with the Melbourne Rebels during the 2018 Super Rugby season.
"Tayler really lit it up this past season and provided us with a different look at (No.) 10 that opened up our attack," Arrows vice-president and GM Mark Winokur said in a statement.
The 24-year-old Diana was a fixture at No. 8 in his debut season with the Arrows. He led the team in both carries (59) and carry metres (286) while scoring two tries. The Uruguayan international, with 25 caps to his name, played at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Du Toit, a centre from Maple Ridge, B.C., started all five matches in 2020, upping his career appearances for the club to 16 in two seasons. The 24-year-old, a graduate of Rugby Canada's Pacific Pride national development program, has 16 caps for Canada.
Leivas played four matches in 2020 with 12 appearances in two years with the club, scoring five tries and running for 596 carry metres. The 32-year-old wing has won 76 caps for Uruguay, second most all-time, with 63 starts and 24 tries. He played at both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
LeSage, a centre from Calgary, started all five matches in his debut season with the club in 2020. The 24-year-old centre has 16 caps for Canada.
Toronto has now signed 21 players ahead of the club's 2021 MLR campaign.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2020.
The Canadian Press
