When the Toronto Arrows kicked off their inaugural season, players and executives expressed hope that the long-awaited arrival of close-to-home, full-time professional rugby would boost Canada’s national team.

The Canadians have risen just one spot, to 21st, in the world rankings over the last year but players and coaches say Major League Rugby’s arrival has helped position them to make big gains later. Of the 31 players listed on Canada’s Pacific Nations Cup roster this weekend, 15 play professionally for MLR clubs, including eight from the Arrows.

This development alone won’t vault Canada into international rugby’s top tier, but the presence of a fully professional league close to home removes a long-standing obstacle to Canadian success.

“It’s a big relief and a big weight off the shoulders of a lot of people,” said Arrows back row Lucas Rumball, a member of the national team. “It’s a way to get better that doesn’t force you to pick up and move somewhere else. You can grow yourself, and with other Canadians … It makes you that much better.”

Some Canadian players have landed steady gigs at high-level pro clubs — Tyler Ardron plays in Hamilton, New Zealand, with the Chiefs. But most others with pro aspirations had few options before MLR. Some shuttled among overseas pro clubs on short-term contracts. Oakville native and Seattle Seawolves prop Djustice Sears-Duru had contracts in Scotland and England. Others, like Rumball, relocated to Rugby Canada’s training centre in B.C., where they practised full-time but rarely played high-level games. The remainder would play with local amateur clubs and hope for national team call-ups.

Canada hasn’t defeated a top-tier rugby nation since 2005, highlighting how rugby infrastructure has improved elsewhere and stagnated in Canada.

“MLR has had a huge effect. It’s a lifeline,” national team head coach Kingsley Jones said. “Eighteen months ago, (most of the Canadians) were working and were part-time players, amateur players. Those days are gone. There won’t be many amateur players in the 2019 World Cup.”

Jones points out that MLR’s level of play remains several steps below international rugby, but says he watched the league closely and that the overall quality improved week by week. Most expect those gains to trickle up to the national team in the form of players like Sears-Duru, who had short stints with the Glasgow Warriors and London’s Ealing Trailfinders before landing an audition with the Arrows.

Sears-Duru parlayed that into an opportunity with Seattle, where he helped eliminate the Arrows from the playoffs, won an MLR title and sharpened his game before returning to the national team.

“We get better by playing more games, and playing against better players,” said Sears-Duru, who has made 46 national team appearances. “You have to step your game up every single day, with all the great players you get to be around.”

Canada opens the Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday against the U.S. in Colorado before travelling to Fiji to play both Fiji and Tonga.

The team will play a series of exhibitions in August and then head to Japan for the World Cup, which runs from late September to early November, and presents a series of stiff challenges. Canada will share a group with 23rd-ranked Namibia, No. 14 Italy, No. 5 South Africa, and top-ranked New Zealand.

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Jones recognizes an infusion of MLR players won’t close the gap between Canada and the All-Blacks, who have never been ranked below third worldwide. But he plans to use this upcoming tournament to identify strengths and weaknesses heading into a crucial pre-World Cup prep period. Jones says roughly 20 of the 31 spots on the World Cup roster are settled, and players can fill the remaining slots with strong play next week.

“There are some players in this tournament that I just want to see more of,” Jones said. “Some players performed really well in MLS (and) deserve an opportunity. I want to see if they can deliver at the next level.”

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