TORONTO — New Zealand back Sam Malcolm is leaving the Toronto Arrows to join the Kamaishi Seawaves in Japan.
The 24-year-old Malcolm quarterbacked the Major League Rugby team's attack from fly half in its inaugural 2019 season before switching to fullback this year with the arrival of fellow Kiwi Tayler Adams.
"Sam Malcolm has been a great player, a strong teammate and a consummate professional throughout his two years with the Toronto Arrows," GM Mark Winokur said in a statement Sunday. "As he departs the club, he'll be missed both on and off the pitch."
The Arrows lost New Zealand prop Morgan Mitchell to the same Japanese team after the 2019 season.
Malcolm, an accomplished goal-kicker, was voted to the MLR's second all-star team in 2019.
He played from 2015 to '18 for the Manawatu Turbos in the provincial Mitre 10 Cup, the second tier of the sport in New Zealand below Super Rugby. Malcolm represented New Zealand universities, played for the Super Rugby Hurricanes' under-20 side and tried out for the national under-20 team.
MLR suspended play on March 12 because of the global pandemic, cancelling the season a week later. The second-year Arrows were second in the standings with a 4-1-0 record at the time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2020.
The Canadian Press
