NEWS

The Oitomen Empire

At the age of 19, Avery Oitomen has taken Major League Rugby by storm with his recent try-scoring performances.

However, up until recently, Oitomen wasn’t playing rugby at all. Sidelined from the age of 17 as a result of tearing his ACL on two separate occasions, it was a chance encounter with Toronto’s vice-president and general manager, Mark Winokur, that resulted in the wing joining up with the Arrows.

“I was coaching at a local rugby tournament and he [Mark Winokur] was there training with the Arrows, “ said Oitomen. “We had a chat, I got his phone number and a couple of months later I gave him a call.”

“I wasn’t really doing anything, I was actually working at U-Haul, just recovering from my injury. I was healthy, finally. I kind of had nothing to lose. He invited me down to a training session right before the new year and I guess they liked me.”

Currently taking a year out from his studies at Cardiff Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom, Oitomen has certainly been making the most of his opportunity with the Arrows. His stand-out performances against the Austin Elite (one try) and San Diego Legion (two tries) being the highlights so far, but it was his ten-minute cameo in New Orleans that meant the most to the Ontario native.

“Their intention not to bring me to NOLA was fair because I hadn’t played. That was my first game in two years. I don’t think people understand that,” said Oitomen. “For that game, I wasn’t even on the roster, they called me up late.”

“For me, I got ten minutes and in that ten minutes, I feel that I really solidified where I am on the team. Just the fact that the coaches gave me the opportunity that I had been asking for this entire time to really be able to prove what I’m all about. The only other person to do that was Danny Milton at Cardiff Met.”

Placed third overall in the try-scoring charts with five scores to his name, Oitomen believes that his passion to be back out on the field may be misconstrued as overconfidence; “It might come off as cocky to a lot of people, but to me it’s just passion and competitiveness whenever I step out onto the field.”

“It’s a blessing to be where I am right now after everything I’ve been through. I do have some pretty high standards for myself, and as crazy as it sounds, I kind of wanted all of this. I wanted all of this.”

During his time on the sidelines in Wales, Oitomen says that he learned a lot about what it takes to be a professional and now at the Arrows, with some star names around him, the young wing is still learning from the more experienced players around him.

“One guy who has really taken me under his wing and helped me out is Dan Moor. Obviously, he’s been a professional overseas and has come back,” said Oitomen. “He has really helped me on and off the field, telling me what I can and can’t do, getting me ready for a professional career.”

“Guys like Dan Moor, Carps [Aaron Carpenter], [John] Moonlight, the majority of the guys on our team, they are the guys that I looked up to as a little kid playing rugby,” said Oitomen. “Don’t tell them, well they’re going to hear, and make fun of me, but they’re definitely a big part of my success.”

Due to the adverse weather conditions at this time of year, Toronto is playing their opening eight MLR games on the road, with their first home game on April 4. Oitomen believes the Arrows will earn a playoff berth with eight home matches coming up.

“It’s hard with all the travel, there’s a lot of tired bodies, but those eight games we have at home are going to make or break our season. The goal is to go eight-and-zero. People might look at me weird when I say that, but that’s our goal. I don’t think that we’ll have a problem with that considering the guys we’ve got coming back from the ARCs (Americas Rugby Championship).”

With five of the club’s senior players away with Canada, Toronto has still performed admirably and currently have won three out of their seven games on the road so far. But with captain Lucas Rumball, prop Cole Keith, wing Kainoa Lloyd, fullback Theo Sauder and scrum-half Jamie Mackenzie all set to return to Chris Silverthorn’s side, the Arrows look like they will only get better this season.

When asked what he hopes to achieve this season, Oitomen’s answer was simple; “The MLR Championship. We’ve proved that we can hang with anybody in this league. That’s what is on everybody’s mind in our dressing room, to win that Championship.”

Danny Milton, Oitomen’s Director of Rugby at Cardiff Met in Wales, has been thrilled to see the player that he scouted in Canada nearly three years ago thriving; “To see him not only starting but scoring tries, doing the things we thought were in his game from when we spotted him a couple of years ago in Canada, to see him now transferring that [his skill set] onto the field after a tough time with injuries is really pleasing.”

The Toronto Arrows will enjoy a bye week during Week 9 of MLR before traveling to Utah on March 30 to take on the Warriors during their last away match of the season. See the full schedule at usmlr.com/schedules