General Toronto Wolfpack

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

The Canadian club entering the third tier of the English competition next year;

https://www.torontowolfpack.com/news-updates/

Bit of background for you all;

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/27/toronto-wolfpack-rugby-league-one-2017-brian-noble

Toronto Wolfpack to enter League One next season, RFL announces
• Great Britain’s former rugby league coach Brian Noble joins as director
• Wolfpack to pay travel expenses of division’s 13 other sides


Toronto Downtown with the CN Tower and Rogers Centre Skydome in the foreground.
Photograph: Alamy


Aaron Bower

Wednesday 27 April 2016 16.26 BST Last modified on Wednesday 27 April 2016 16.52 BST

The Rugby Football League has confirmed that a Canadian side will be introduced into English rugby league from next season. Toronto Wolfpack will enter League One – the sport’s third tier – and will play home and away fixtures in blocks of four or five, staying in Yorkshire while playing away and training in Bradford.

The Wolfpack will play their home games at Toronto’s Lamport Stadium, home of the Canada national side, and have already confirmed an impressive off-field team to head up the organisation. The former Great Britain coach Brian Noble will join as director of rugby with the former Leigh coach Paul Rowley working as head coach. “It’s brand new – I’ve done a lot of things in the game but to be involved in this and to take something from nowhere is exciting,” Noble said.

The Guardian revealed last year that talks were taking place about the RFL admitting a side from across the Atlantic, and the Wolfpack will fund the expenses of the other 15 League One sides, 12 of which are part-time, when they travel to Toronto.

“Toronto is a city ready to embrace the first transatlantic sports team, and we’re proud to be behind it,” said Eric Perez, the club’s CEO. “We have a consortium of very successful businessmen and we’ve set up platforms of exposure for sponsorship that will ensure the team is well-backed and well-funded.”

With the infrastructure and launch of the club confirmed, attention will now turn to recruiting the players for the inaugural season in 2017. Rowley and Noble both confirmed that they will conduct a wide search for talent, but the former insisted it is vital there is a Canadian presence in the squad – an area of the world in which rugby league is relatively unknown at the moment.

“It’s important to have homegrown flavour,” Noble said. “The immediate goal is winning but we’ll be spending a month here to ensure we find the top athletes this country is producing: there will be north American roots.”

Noble also said he sees no reason why the club cannot aim for the highest level in the shortest space of time. “If you have a dream you’ve got to dream as big as you can,” he said. “If you speak to everyone involved their goal is Super League – and once you’re in there, you’ve a chance of winning it. We want to be right up there.”

 

[brightman]

“It’s important to have homegrown flavour,” Noble said. “The immediate goal is winning but we’ll be spending a month here to ensure we find the top athletes this country is producing: there will be north American roots.”

Yeah there's plenty of flavour up there, maybe recruit Eddie Hayson..

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

https://bcrugbynews.com/show_news.cfm?ID=2105

Rugby League in Canada


Toronto Wolfpack - Rugby League
©
Rugby League Goes Professional in Toronto with the Wolfpack

posted September 29 2016


Rugby League has beat out Rugby Union in creating the first pro team in Canada. While the national governing body of Rugby Union decides whether to let PRO Rugby North America operate within its borders, rugby league has grabbed the opportunity.

There's a twist, the team will play in the English leagues in the third tier division. Their home games will be in Toronto but the road trips will be transatlantic. The team name is Wolfpack, not to be confused with Wolverines the name of the national team.

Rugby league is making inroads in BC. Several mainland clubs such as Capilano, Surrey and Abbotsford run Rugby League teams in the spring and summer.

In the summer the Junior Wolverines U17 team had a successful tour to Jamaica where they won 24-4. Jamaica are considered a rising star in the Rugby League world but are currently ranked 27th with Canada ranked 14th. There were several players on tour who also play representative rugby in Rugby Union.

As the national and provincial Rugby Union governing bodies disenfranchise segments of their membership with autocratic decision making policies, some may turn to Rugby League as an alternative.

from Canadian Press

TORONTO — The Toronto Wolfpack's search for a "rough diamond" officially starts Saturday.

The fledgling rugby league team will be running some 20 to 25 athletes through drills at Lamport Stadium, with more tryouts scheduled in October in Philadelphia, Tampa and Kingston, Jamaica. Vancouver may also host tryouts.

The Wolfpack are slated to start play in March in the third tier of English rugby league, with an eye to winning promotion and eventually climbing up the ladder to the Super League.

The team has already announced the signing of a dozen players with English rugby league experience with more, including four Canadians and one American, having made verbal commitments.

The tryouts are an attempt to unearth raw talent who might flourish in the hard-hitting 13-man rugby code. Would-be players are being screened prior to the tryouts via a questionnaire before receiving an invitation.

"We'll be looking for a rough diamond basically," said Wolfpack coach Paul Rowley, a former England hooker. "Not one that's going to be a long-term project, one that has the ability to maybe transfer his skills in a different court over to rugby league in as short a space a time as possible.

"We expect good athletes. So a rough diamond we may find."

The top tryout talent will be invited to the club's training base in England to continue their journey, with the hope that some will make the squad. The club, which has already shown it is not afraid to dream big, is documenting the tryout process for a reality TV series called "The Last Tackle."

While some have rugby league experience, the talent pool also includes several players who have had NFL tryouts.

"We had lots of interest," said Wolfpack CEO Eric Perez. "That why it was difficult to get it down to a manageable number."

Perez believes the Jamaica tryouts will be especially fruitful, given the country's athletic talent and growing interest in the sport.

"I think the Jamaica trial is going to be super-intense and we will find a couple of guys there that are just next-level athletes," he said.

GM Brian Noble, who captained both England and the British Lions as well as coaching the Lions, says psychological makeup will be as important as physical talents in assessing those trying out.

"Obviously they're going to have to like a little bit of contact because it's a physical sport. ... But the strategy involved — it's like a game of chess within a game of chess," he said. "And then you've got to have the brutality of the size and the athletic prowess — to have the ability to do everything — run quickly, be agile, make sure you can get up and down off the ground.

"But the biggest challenge for me — and I played it for a long time — (is) it tests you more mentally than anything else I've ever done. It's a tough sport."

"It's a war of attrition," added Rowley.

The Wolfpack's highest-profile signing to date is probably English centre Craig Hall (Hull FC, Hull Kingston Rovers and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats).

"He's been a Super League player and nothing else but a Super League player," said Rowley. "He's been a high achiever. He makes things happen. He's an entertainer. We've focused particularly on players that fit an entertaining-type bill because we believe obviously we're in the entertainment business and we play to entertain through the brand we play."

The Wolfpack expects to carry a roster of 30 players during the season, with some players loaned out to other clubs.

The team will hold its training camp in England and play home and away games in blocks of several weeks to minimize travel. The Toronto team will pay the travelling expenses for visiting teams to start with.

Adult season tickets for the 12 home games at Lamport Stadium start at $310, with individual and group tickets available in November once the schedule is released.

 

[Brother Faisal]

Eric Perez is a visionary who brings a fresh new view to the game. Its exciting, i know many will say it will fail or nothings be done but the groundwork for this project has been solid. Toronto will be interesting. 5,000 season tickets sold already at about $250-300



the mayor of toronto the panel and a media conference bigger than any warriors press conference, amazing.

fuifui moimoi is there big signing. not a bad start. really nice merchandise. the toronto wolfpack

 

[Brother Faisal]

who the xxxx gets harvey keitel to give a shout out to the toronto wolfpack!!!!! amazing.

 

[Run_it_str8]

Get it featured in a Hollywood movie involving Thor or Wolverine.

They argue over whose team is better then feature a 30 clip of in game highlights.

 

[brightman]

Get it featured in a Hollywood movie involving Thor or Wolverine.

They argue over whose team is better then feature a 30 clip of in game highlights.

Now that is not so far fetched an idea, surely Russell Crowe could enlist those fellow A-listers to promote an WCC series or NRL Nines staged in Los Vegas.
And I reckon Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would be only to happy to reprezent our Warriors

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/39019432

Toronto Wolfpack: Meet the first transatlantic sports team

By Dave Woods

BBC rugby league correspondent

The Wolfpack lost 26-20 against Hull FC in pre-season, in what was their first ever fixture
Toronto Wolfpack will become the first transatlantic sports team when they take on Siddal in rugby league's Challenge Cup on Saturday.

Nine years in the making, the Wolfpack will compete in their first professional game against the West Yorkshire side in round three of the cup competition.

The Canadian club start this season in the third tier of English rugby league, but they have high ambitions - to reach the Super League within five years.


With the world of rugby league eager to see what the Canadian side are made of, BBC Sport uncovers how they came to play in England and what fans can expect.

Who are Toronto Wolfpack?
The man behind the team is Eric Perez, who has worked in PR and broadcasting. He's a born and bred Torontonian who first came across rugby league when he was living with his girlfriend in Gibraltar and saw a match on TV.

Nine years ago he was living in Birmingham and started to regularly watch the Super League. He says he was blown away by the sport, describing it as the most Canadian sport not played in Canada.

He decided to make it his lifetime goal to set up a side in his home city of Toronto.

Their head coach is the highly rated Paul Rowley, a former England international and ex-coach of Leigh, while director of rugby is former Great Britain, Bradford and Wigan coach Brian Noble.

How have they joined the English leagues?
For the past nine years Perez has been working behind the scenes to convince the Rugby Football League (RFL) and other clubs that this was no pipe dream.

He's worked closely with Gary Hetherington, chief executive of Super League side Leeds Rhinos, to learn how to run a club.

Perez gathered together financial backers and sponsors and secured the 10,000-seater Lamport Stadium in Toronto. He's also sold the broadcast rights for TV stations to cover the Wolfpack across Canada and the UK.

He created a Canadian national rugby league side using players from a league he set up, and got a crowd of more than 8,000 to watch their opening game against a visiting Royal Air Force team.

All that work convinced the RFL that they should be allowed into the league. When a vote was put to the English clubs they gave their backing with an overwhelming majority in favour.

And with nearly 3,000 season passes having already been sold before a tackle has been made, Perez is confident the Wolfpack will play in front of sell-out crowds on home soil.

Canada international Rhys Jacks joined Toronto from Sheffield Eagles
Who will play for them?
The majority of players are drawn from England and the Wolfpack have assembled quite a squad. Their captain Craig Hall, a former Hull FC and Hull KR centre, was still playing in Super League for Wakefield Trinity last year. And Trinity wanted to keep him.

Their most charismatic signing is Tonga pro Fuifui Moimoi, who played for Parramatta Eels in Australia, before spending last season at Super League side Leigh Centurions.

Most expect the Wolfpack to romp through League 1 this year and be a real challenger in the Championship next year as they bid for promotion to the Super League.

The team also includes American centre Ryan Burroughs plus Canadian scrum-half Rhys Jacks and prop Tom Dempsey.

They've also run trials in several Canadian and US cities to identify youngsters who haven't quite made the grade in the National Football League (NFL) or Canadian Football League (CFL) but who could transfer their skills to rugby league.

But that's a longer term project.

How are they financed?
The North American-based, Australian mining millionaire David Argyle is the main financial backer behind the new club.

But they have several sponsorship deals in place too. Not the least of them is with the Airline Air Transat. That deal will cover Toronto's travel costs, but will also mean that each English team will travel free when they go to Canada to play against the Wolfpack at home.

Each English club will be able to take a full squad, coaches and ancillary staff to Toronto, at no cost to them.

English fans will also be given subsidised travel.

Craig Hall played for both Hull FC and KR before moving to Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and then to Toronto
How will their fixtures work?
The Wolfpack have been based in England for their pre-season training. Following the match against Siddal, their opening five league games, starting with a match against London Skolars on 4 March, will be played in England.

Then Toronto fly home and over the next five weeks, English sides will fly out to play them.

That pattern is reversed throughout the season.

It's expected that the English clubs will fly out on a Thursday morning, play the game on Saturday and then fly home on Sunday.

That might give the Wolfpack an advantage, but Perez is having none of that. In League 1, clubs are as far apart as Workington and Whitehaven in the north and London, Oxford, Hemel and Gloucester in the south.

He argues that players would rather spend eight hours on a flight, than six hours on a coach.

How have English rugby league teams reacted?
With a mixture of excitement and caution. Most players and coaches fancy regular trips to play in Toronto. And the idea of a side based in Canada has captured the public's imagination.

But now their campaign is about to get under way, the proof of whether this business model can work will finally be tested.

There's no hint of anything less than supreme confidence from Perez. And he's already suggested that more North American clubs will be coming in the next few years, with Montreal and Boston mooted as the next staging posts.

Watch live coverage of Siddal v Toronto Wolfpack on the BBC Sport website on Saturday, 25 February.

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

Apparently the Toronto Wolfpack have sold 8,000 season passes for their debut season in the ESL's 3rd division.

 

[snake77]

We won't get any of that division televised. Are their games going to be streamed?

8,000 is a great effort. Hopefully they go well.

There have been a lot of proposed ideas over the years to grow league. Some have been talked about and nothing done about them (typically what happens) some have been done and caused damage (Super League war). These guys have to be commended for having the idea and following through with it.

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

We won't get any of that division televised. Are their games going to be streamed?

Their Challenge Cup game was streamed by the beeb but they have a national television deal in Canada apparently.

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

We won't get any of that division televised. Are their games going to be streamed?

8,000 is a great effort. Hopefully they go well.

There have been a lot of proposed ideas over the years to grow league. Some have been talked about and nothing done about them (typically what happens) some have been done and caused damage (Super League war). These guys have to be commended for having the idea and following through with it.

Also, check out the ESL thread as I posted some stuff about Toulouse Olympic there.

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

We won't get any of that division televised. Are their games going to be streamed?

In Canada;

Wolfpack Secure Canadian Broadcast Partner



(Toronto) The Toronto Wolfpack have confirmed that GameTV will be broadcasting all league matches for the 2017 season. All matches will be available live on GameTV, coast-to-coast across Canada.
Toronto Wolfpack CEO Eric Perez had this to say on the announcement: “We are excited to have GameTV on board for our inaugural season, and we are looking forward to our first Match on Saturday, which will be aired live on GameTV, and allow millions of Canadian households the opportunity to tune in and support Canada’s first and only professional Rugby League franchise. GameTV is positioned to be a powerhouse in Canadian sport, and we are excited to be able to be a part of this fantastic platform”.

“We’re very excited to support the Wolfpack and provide a live, professional, Canadian Rugby franchise for all Canadians to watch and support.” said Anthony Cicione, President of GameTV.

Fans can now watch all Wolfpack games coast to coast live on GameTV. GameTV will also feature off the pitch Wolfpack action this season, including ‘Wolfpack in 30’.

The first League 1 match can be seen live on GameTV, on March 4th at 9:30AM EST, when Toronto play London Skolars, at New River Stadium in London.

Please refer to the chart below for the channel where you can find GameTV, based on your cable provider. Or visit: www.igametv.com.



https://www.torontowolfpack.com/2017/03/01/wolfpack-secure-canadian-broadcast-partner/

 

[kiwi's 13-6]

Man one thing about that Toronto side

Eric Perez is a visionary who brings a fresh new view to the game. Its exciting, i know many will say it will fail or nothings be done but the groundwork for this project has been solid. Toronto will be interesting. 5,000 season tickets sold already at about $250-300



the mayor of toronto the panel and a media conference bigger than any warriors press conference, amazing.

fuifui moimoi is there big signing. not a bad start. really nice merchandise. the toronto wolfpack

In that Toronto Launch Video at the End i dont think it is any coincidence that the Owner, Coach & Mayor all hold up the number 6 jersey! Now i see type of networking the wealthy people behind this team have used to pull stings & make there team happen... not my cup of tea thanks! Like the famous Canadian Bryan Adams lyrics - finding it hard to believe the Wolfpack Ownership will be in heaven...

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

https://www.thestar.com/sports/2017/03/04/wolfpack-dominate-in-their-first-league-match.html

Wolfpack dominate in their first league match


Toronto rugby team defeats London Skolars 76-0 in England.

Fuifui Moimoi, who had three tries, carries the ball for the Toronto Wolfpack in their 76-0 win over the London Skolars. (Stephen Gaunt / Courtesy of Toronto Wolfpack)
By Adrian WarnerThe Canadian Press
Sat., March 4, 2017

LONDON—The Toronto Wolfpack began their long-term quest to reach the top flight of English rugby league in confident style on Saturday, running in 13 tries in a 76-0 defeat of London Skolars.

Forward Fuifui Moimoi had three tries, including two in the second half, in Toronto’s opening game in Kingstone Press League 1, the third tier of the English game.

“It was the perfect start. We reminded people that we are not a bad side,” Wolfpack coach Paul Rowley said. “We have got some good attackers and, on a fast track like that, we could play a good brand of rugby. But our defence was strong too. We didn’t just stop them, we were quite brutal at times.”

Read More:

Rugby’s Wolfpack look to follow Toronto FC's lead in building following

Article Continued Below
Simply winning won’t suffice for Toronto Wolfpack

Rowley, a former England international was impressed with Moimoi, a constant threat in attack and defence.

“Moimoi is box office. I would pay money to watch him,” Rowley said. “He has a big frame and leg speed and he doesn’t have a hand brake. You don’t want to stand in his way.”

Wingers Jonny Pownall and Liam Kay had two tries apiece, one in each half. Centre Greg Worthington grabbed two tries in the second half.

The Wolfpack dominated play right from the kickoff with six tries in the first half from Pownall, Kay, Moimoi, Craig Hall, Bob Beswick and Andrew Dixon for a formidable 34-0 halftime lead.

Captain Hall, who kicked an impressive 24 points and missed just one conversion, scored the Wolfpack’s first league try under the posts in the first 10 minutes.

The Wolfpack have high ambitions to reach the Super League, England’s top level, within five years. The Super League showpiece game of the season — the Challenge Cup final — is played at London’s 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium.

Toronto began its league history in a less glamorous part of north London, the Skolars’ tiny New River Stadium with just one main stand for around 1,200 spectators. The stand was full, however, for the Wolfpack’s visit and English rugby league’s newest team put on a polished performance in front of 1,500 spectators.

By midway through the second half, the Wolfpack were running in tries with the confidence of a training session with Worthington’s two touchdowns and Samoan fullback Quentin Laula-Togaga also getting on the score sheet.

Despite the strong start, Rowley expects fierce opposition for Toronto in the rest of its league matches this season. He said his team would not be getting carried away by the strong start.

“People want to knock us off our perch,” he said. “They want us to be arrogant. But we are not. We are humble and grounded.”

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

How many of you are following the Toronto Wolfpack on Twitter? They could sure teach our club a thing or two about social media!

Their handle is @TOwolfpack if anyone cant find them.

 

[mt.wellington]

How many of you are following the Toronto Wolfpack on Twitter? They could sure teach our club a thing or two about social media!

Their handle is @TOwolfpack if anyone cant find them.

Warriors social media shits on Toronto. Not even in the same ballpark...

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

Warriors social media shits on Toronto. Not even in the same ballpark...

Our club couldn't teach anyone anything about social media

 

[snake77]

The clubs use of social media is probably a lot better than certain players.

Now to keep this on topic. Strategies to grow international rugby league. Start a twitter account.

 

[mt.wellington]

Our club couldn't teach anyone anything about social media

You might wanna actually follow our club online cause they are leading this countrys sports organisations in terms of fan interaction and content. Your views are outdated. Dont forget the Toronto's start player is Fuifui Moimoi and we all know how that slut was exposed on Twitter...