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Toronto Wolfpack look to add promotion to rugby league success story

Sep 8, 2017 | 2:45 PM

TORONTO — For Toronto Wolfpack coach Paul Rowley, it’s another exciting, bone-rattling day at the office — albeit with a big prize at stake.

His fledgling rugby league team — rugby’s first transatlantic side — can earn promotion to the second-tier Championship with a win or tie Saturday against the visiting Barrow Raiders.

In a season short on drama but long on lopsided wins, there’s no certainty that the No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown will come with a twist. One British bookmaker has Toronto a 1/200 favourite to win on the weekend — meaning a bet of $1,000 will net you a $5 profit.

From the Championship, a tougher goal awaits — winning promotion to the elite Super League.

So far, the Wolfpack (18-1-1) have been a success on and off the field. While few outside the franchise’s inner circle believed an expansion team in a niche sport could succeed in North America, the naysayers have been proved wrong.

“After our launch tons of people came out and said ‘This is ridiculous. Why are they doing this?’” recalled Wolfpack CEO Eric Perez, the driving force behind the team. “You don’t really hear from those people much any more, to be honest with you.” 

“The naysayers have faded into the background. The success of it is just so clear to see that it’s hard to naysay something that has brought eyeballs to the sport, big sponsorships and excitement to a league that people really weren’t following unless their team was in it.”

Still Perez, part of the franchise’s ownership consortium, acknowledges the club will not turn a profit until it cracks the Super League (when it will no longer be responsible for transporting or housing visiting teams). 

Like Perez, Rowley never doubted that rugby’s 13-man code would win over fans on this side of the Atlantic. He says the product on the pitch speaks for itself.

“It’s got everything that North Americans love,” said the former England hooker. “It’s got violence and it’s got grace and beauty. Not many sports mix all of that in one bag.”

The violence comes from the brutal hitting in the game. The collisions in rugby league are legendary and the sport’s gang-tackling is spectacular — at times it looks like every inch of the ball-carrier’s body is covered by tacklers.

It’s like a game of Twister turned nasty.

The beauty is shown on attack, with waves of dummy runners looking to confuse defenders as an attack builds at speed. Kicking is a precision weapon, be it a grubber on the ground or intimidating up-and-under moonshot.

The athletes are big and buffed with high pain thresholds. Perez compares the rugby league ethos to that of hockey.

“Like ‘Stitch me up coach, I’m ready to go in,’” he said.

The Wolfpack players are also down-to-earth with a dearth of attitude. It’s hard to dislike a team that celebrates each win with a hearty victory song and mosh-pit-worthy locker-room dance.

The players still call the north of England home, living in the same houses they did before signing with Toronto. When they play games in Toronto, they are essentially tourists staying in a college residence.

Still they have all sacrificed family time, with Rowley apart from his wife and twin 10-year-old sons when in Toronto.

The coach chose his roster carefully, bringing aboard many who played for him in England at the Leigh Centurions. Fielding a fully professional side against semi-pro opposition, he knew critics people would try to depict his players as “silver-spooned kids.”

So he preached humility.

“I think that’s evident in the way they spend time with supporters here. And it’s clear to see that it’s genuine and it’s not fake or forced upon them, far from it. I think that’s a big part of why these boys are successful here and loved by the people that come.”

The affection for both home and visiting players is on display after the matches when players circle the entire venue to shake hands, take selfies or quaff a cold one when offered.

Recent games have drawn crowds in excess of 7,000 to Lamport Stadium, a no-frills venue that is located close to bars and restaurants in Liberty Village

After practice, the players usually stroll across the street for lunch at one of the many patios. 

Forced to enter the third tier of the sport in England, the Wolfpack were able to sort out teething problems largely outside the spotlight in the relative anonymity of the Kingstone Press League 1.

The league champion wins automatic promotion while the second- through fifth-place teams face off to see who joins them.

Toronto has a two-point advantage over Barrow (17-2-1) with one game remaining for each team after this weekend. A win or tie Saturday will secure Toronto the title, given it currently holds a 525-point advantage in points difference, which is the first tiebreaker.

The Wolfpack thumped Barrow 70-2 the first time they met, in Toronto on May 20. Rowley expects a pricklier opponent Saturday, given what’s at stake and the fact that Barrow’s roster is better stocked this time around.

Even if Toronto loses, it can still secure promotion with a victory in the season finale against visiting Doncaster (10-7-3).

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press