Theo Sauder (born 2 April 1996) is a Canadian

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player that plays

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

and

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

. He currently plays for the

Toronto Arrows Toronto Arrows R.F.C. is a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that plays in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team is an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and is funded by a group of private investors ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

as well as the Canada national rugby sevens team.

Early life

Sauder was born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and attended St. George's School. After graduating from St. George's he attended

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

for his university studies.

Rugby career

In 2015, Sauder played for Canada U20 at the

2015 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, second-tier world championship. A total of 8 nations played in the tournament. The event was held in Portugal and was or ...

. He played for the Canada U20s again in 2016 but lost to United States U20 19-18 in the qualifier for the

2016 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy The 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy was the ninth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, second-tier world championship. The event was held in Harare, Zimbabwe and was organized by rugby's governing body, World ...

, therefore he did not get the play in the tournament that year. Sauder made his international debut for on 9 June 2018 against . He came off the bench as a substitute in the 55th minute. Sauder scored his first points for the national team in a 65-19 win over in the first match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup Qualifying Repechage Tournament. He scored 2 tries and a conversion. On 6 November 2018, Sauder signed with the

ahead of their 2019 debut season in

. On 27 September 2019, he was included in the Canadian squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

as an injury replacement to

Ben LeSage Benjamin LeSage (born 24 November 1995) is a Canadian rugby union player who plays as a centre for the LA Giltinis in Major League Rugby (MLR) and for Canada internationally. He previously played for the Toronto Arrows. He is the son of Margare ...

Sevens

In June 2021, Sauder was named to Canada's 2020 Summer Olympics team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauder, Theo 1996 births Living people Rugby union players from Vancouver Toronto Arrows players St. George's School (Vancouver) alumni BC Bears players Rugby union fullbacks University of British Columbia alumni Canada international rugby union players Rugby sevens players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic rugby sevens players for Canada