Top 10 Raptors Matches: The Blizzard

The top Raptors match of all-time occurred on a cold and snowy night in March 2019.

With the Toronto Arrows in town for the first time ever, it was evidently going to take much more than a patented Colorado spring blizzard to prevent this match from being played.

The Raptors ended up using four tries scored by Chad Gough, Dylan Taikato-Simpson, Harley Davidson, and Zach Fenoglio with a conversion by Carlo de Nysschen to defeat the Arrows 22-0 in this match, but that’s not necessarily why it’s on the list.

When I compiled this list, I wanted it to represent the most important Raptors matches that occurred during their time in Major League Rugby. That’s why this list includes a playoff victory and a championship loss. It includes comeback wins and big blowouts in pivotal regular-season matches.

The reason this match tops the list is because it is easily the most memorable one in my mind. When I compiled this list back in March, I asked several players and staff that have been around the club for a while what they thought about the order and “The Blizzard” was the favorite by a landslide.

In an interview that I conducted with 2020 Raptors captain Luke White the day after this match took place, he said that the match was one of the funnest matches that he’d ever been apart of.

When I look back on the Raptors three seasons in the MLR, this is the match that I will think about. I remember it being unusually cold and snowy, even for a March evening. I remember wondering whether or not the match would even take place. I was surprised by the number of people that actually came out to brave the storm and watch their team take on the newcomers from up North.

It took me over an hour to get home that night because the snow plows couldn’t keep up with the amount of snow that was falling on I-25. If it didn’t occur to me during the match, the fact that it took me the length of a rugby match to get home made me realize how amazing that match actually was. For the Raptors and Arrows to strap up their boots and play rugby in that mess for 80 minutes just goes to show how tough these guys actually are and how much they care about putting on a good show for the people that came out to watch.

SCORING

Glendale Raptors

Tries: Chad Gough, Dylan Taikato-Simpson, Harley Davidson, Zach Fenoglio

Conversions: Robbie Petzer (0/3), Carlo de Nysschen (1/1)

Penalty Goals: N/A

Toronto Arrows

Tries: N/A

Conversions: N/A

Penalty Goals: Sam Malcolm (0/1)

Check out the rest of the list!

10. Raptors Steal the Show at Starfire

9. 2018 MLR Championship

8. Chad London Stuns RUNY at the Horn

7. The Robbie Petzer Show

6. Gold Rush

5. Raptors Hand Arrows First Loss of 2020

4. Raptors Win Inaugural MLR Match

3. The Comeback

2. Raptors Advance to 2018 MLR Championship