Alberta native James O’Neill played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2024. He represented the Toronto Arrows for his entire MLR caeer.

A Cochrane, AB native, University of Victoria alum James O’Neill was drafted in the 2nd Round (26th Overall) by the LA Giltinis in the 2021 MLR Collegiate Draft. After O’Neill was drafted by the LA Giltinis, they traded the University of Victoria alum to the Toronto Arrows on 9th November 2021 along with LA’s 3rd Rd Draft Pick in the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft (used to select Denver Fatt) and 2022 Salary Cap Considerations (unknown) in exchange for Canadian test capped centre Ben LeSage. At college level, O’Neill was a 3-time Canadian University All-Star, and represented the Canada U20 side in 2017, Captaining the U20 side in 2018.

O’Neill earned his MLR debut for the Arrows in February 2022 against the Seattle Seawolves. He earned double-digit appearances in each of his first 2 seasons with the Arrows, totalling 25 caps (13 starts), scoring 2 tries. He racked up 111 successful tackles in the 2023 season alone, and recorded 188 in total along with over 600m gained in possession. On 23rd October 2023, the Toronto Arrows announced the return of James O’Neill for the 2024 MLR season but following the withdrawal of the Arrows in the off-season, he did not return to MLR.

Achievements:

• MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Round 8
• MLR Draftee: 2021 – 2nd Round (26th Overall) – LA Giltinis