Dan McFarland emerges as shock contender for Newcastle Red Bulls job

Former Ulster boss Dan McFarland has emerged as a shock contender to take over as head coach at Gallagher PREM strugglers Newcastle Red Bulls next season.

Oxfordshire-born McFarland, 53, who attended Newcastle University, has been the forwards coach at the Japan Rugby League One outfit Kobelco Kobe Steelers under his former Glasgow Warriors boss Dave Rennie since leaving Ulster.

Newcastle Red Bulls managing director Jonny Petrie, the 106th Scotland captain, knows McFarland well after they worked together at Ravenhill during his stint as Ulster chief executive.

Ampleforth College-educated McFarland, who was a loosehead prop, played for Richmond, Stade Français and Connacht before retiring in 2006 when he went into coaching.

An assistant at Connacht, Glasgow Warriors and Scotland, he took over as head coach at Ulster in 2018, finishing as PRO14 runners-up two years later, and stayed until 2024, when he moved to Japan.

At Scotstoun, he worked under Gregor Townsend, who advises the Austrian energy drinks giants on their global rugby strategy for 30 days a year and is tipped to become director of rugby after next year’s World Cup in Australia.

Alan Dickens, who joined the club as an attack and defence coach in July 2024, has been the Red Bulls head coach since October 2025, after the departure of Steve Diamond, and is out of contract at the end of the season.

Dickens, who oversaw their first PREM Rugby victory over Gloucester last Friday, told RugbyPass at the end of November that he isn’t planning on knocking on Petrie’s door and asking about a new deal.

“I’ll get on with the job, and when those conversations come, we’ll have them. I’m not going to knock on the door and say what’s happening. I’ll get on with the job, but I’ve absolutely loved it here at Newcastle,” he told Fissler Confidential.