Brock Webster hasn't stopped running for a while. And the Toronto Arrows couldn't be happier.
The 21-year-old back from Uxbridge, Ont., scored a try and ran for 83 metres last Saturday in his Arrows debut, helping Toronto edge the NOLA Gold 24-23 record for its first win of the Major League Rugby season.
Webster has been in the move since signing on short notice to join the injury-ravaged team.
"It all went by pretty quick," Webster said. "And it was pretty busy trying to sort out paperwork, even my contract. I was actually saying to a couple of my teammates yesterday (that) the last week has obviously been a lot physically, but mentally it's been a lot more.
"It's all a lot of change but a lot of good change. So I'm grateful for that."
Last week started with Webster catching the red-eye from Victoria to Toronto, arriving the Tuesday of game week at 6:15 a.m. He took an Uber from the airport to training, managing to catch 90 minutes of shut-eye on the trainer's table before his first practice. On Friday, he was on the plane for New Orleans.
His presence was appreciated. The Arrows were missing 10 injured players for the game in Metairie, La., including eight backs: Andrew Ferguson, Guiseppe du Toit, Cole Brown, John Sheridan, Brandan Ferguson, Dennon Robinson-Bartlett, Kobe Faust and Connor McCann.
That injury list prompted the Arrows to offer Webster, who had been training on Vancouver Island with the Canadian sevens side and the Rugby Canada academy development side, a short-term contract.
On the plus side, Webster gets to stay with his parents in the Toronto area. That and a rental car have left Webster able to come and go — not to mention enjoying some home cooking.
The Arrows (1-2-0, four points) hit the road again this week, taking on Old Glory DC (0-3-0, zero points) on Saturday at Segra Field in Leesburg, Va.
Old Glory, whose roster features Canadians Jake Ilnicki, Luke Campbell and Doug Fraser, have conceded a league-worst 153 points this season in losing 55-22 at Rugby ATL, 57-12 at the Austin Gilgronis and 41-25 to the visiting New England Free Jacks.
Toronto dropped its season opener 21-8 at the Seattle Seawolves and then lost 31-16 to the defending champion Los Angeles Giltinis at Langford, B.C.
Webster was part of the Canadian sevens team for the first two events of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series season in Dubai in late November and early December. But a bout of COVID prevented him from taking part in the next two events in Spain in late January.
He had almost no symptoms but had to wait to get back to action. Missing out on the Spain events, however, eventually opened the door for the Arrows.
"But obviously still a bummer not being able to go to Spain with my sevens teammates. Definitely a blessing in disguise there in one sense," he added.
Webster's deal with the Arrows runs through March 29. He plans to return to sevens play then, with the next stops on the Sevens Series scheduled for April 9-10 in Singapore and April 16-17 in Vancouver.
There is also a World Cup Sevens qualifier in June. The Canadian men, in transition after a large number of retirements following the Tokyo Olympics, stand 13th overall on the sevens circuit.
Webster made his debut on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series as an 18-year-old at the 2019 Sydney Sevens.
The six-foot, 180-pounder has also won five caps for the Canadian 15s team, taking part in World Cup qualifying last year as well as a November test match against Portugal. While the failure to make the 2023 World Cup was "super-disappointing," Webster says he sees a bright future for Kingsley Jones' young squad.
Webster has also represented Canada at the 2019 World Rugby Under-20 Trophy in Brazil and Canada ‘A’ at the 2018 Americas Pacific Challenge. In sevens play, he took part in at the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games, Canada’s under-18 sevens team at the 2018 Auckland School Sevens, and was part of the Maple Leafs development team that toured South American in early 2019.
He was named Rugby Canada’s Young Player of the Year, Male in 2018.
Webster began playing rugby at age 11 for the Oshawa Vikings and started to take the sport more seriously when he made the Ontario under-15 side. After high school, he moved west to train with the sevens program and has been there for the last four years.
His Olympic dream was put on hold after he broke his thumb and needed surgery five weeks before the Tokyo Games.
Webster hopes to continue playing both sevens and 15s, saying he likes the challenge in switching between the two.
"I find beauty in that difficulty" he said.
"People often ask me which game I love more. For me to be really honest. I just love playing rugby," he added. "As long as I have a rugby ball in my hands and I'm on a rugby field, it doesn't matter how many teammates are with me. I'm having a good time."
Webster who grew up playing fly half but started at wing on the weekend for the Arrows, has no complaints about his congested schedule.
"I'm 21 years old, living on the West Coast of Canada, doing what I love," he said. "I've gotten to come back home for six weeks, see my parents, travel around the States a bit. And, once again, doing the thing I love. So I'm very grateful for that. And I'd take a lot of adversity just to be in that position."
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2022.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
