The Toronto Arrows, Canada’s first pro rugby union franchise, formally started filling their roster Tuesday with 12 signings.

The Arrows are slated to open play in January in Major League Rugby. The league will operate Season 2 with nine clubs: Austin (Texas), Houston, Glendale (Colo.), New Orleans, Rugby United New York, San Diego, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Toronto.

The first 12 players to join the Arrows fold are props Rob Brower, Cole Keith and Morgan Mitchell, hooker Steven Ng, lock Paul Ciulini and back-rowers Peter Milazzo and Lucas Rumball plus backs Jack Evans, Andrew Ferguson, Kainoa Lloyd, Gaston Mieres and Theo Sauder.

All but Mitchell (New Zealand) and Mieres (Uruguay) are Canadian.

Seven of the signings — Brouwer, Ciulini, Ferguson, Keith, Lloyd, Rumball and Sauder — have played for Canada at the senior level. Rumball, who has captained Canada, leads the way with 23 national team appearances.

Mieres has appeared 60 times for Uruguay.

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Seven of the signings came through the Ontario Blues junior and senior provincial system.

“We are sticking with our belief that Ontario and Canada have top professional-level players available and we are going to maximize that opportunity,” Arrows vice-president and GM Mark Winokur said in a statement. “Having said that, we know that we need to put the best possible product on the field for our fans and we are committed to making that happen.”

MLR featured seven teams in its inaugural 2018 season: Austin, Houston, Glendale, New Orleans, San Diego, Seattle and Salt Lake City.

The Seattle Seawolves won the inaugural title, defeating the Glendale Raptors 23-19 in July in San Diego. The Seawolves lineup included Canadians Ray Barkwill, George Barton, Cam Polson, Brock Staller and Canada captain Phil Mack, who doubles as a Seattle assistant coach.

The Arrows debuted in September 2017 when co-founder Bill Webb and a group of fellow rugby enthusiasts decided to fund a team for an exhibition season to see if a pro team was viable.

Canada already has a pro rugby league team in the Toronto Wolfpack. Debuting in 2017, the Wolfpack currently play the 13-man code in England’s second-tier Betfred Championship.

Rugby union and rugby league are two different versions of the sport.

The Arrows are expected to play home games at York University but will start the season on the road due to the Canadian winter. The league schedule has yet to be released.

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Toronto Arrows:

Forwards: Rob Brouwer, Lindsay, Ont.; Cole Keith, Sussex, N.B.; Morgan Mitchell, New Zealand, Steven Ng, Ottawa; Paul Ciulini, Vaughan, Ont.; Peter Milazzo, Toronto; Lucas Rumball, Toronto.

Backs: Jack Evans, Victoria; Andrew Ferguson, Mississauga, Ont.; Kainoa Lloyd, Mississauga, Ont.; Gaston Mieres, Uruguay; Theo Sauder, Vancouver.