Newcastle Red Bulls boss hopes Ollie Leatherbarrow will be a trendsetter

Dan McFarland admits that Ollie Leatherbarrow’s shock first Scotland call-up for the Nations Championship is down to Red Bull giving the flanker wings.

Leatherbarrow, 24, who started his career in Devon with Exeter University and Exeter Chiefs has represented Scotland at U16 and U20 levels through his Perth-born grandmother.

Despite starting only once this season, scoring a try in the Challenge Cup against the Scarlets, Gregor Townsend has named him in his 37-man squad ahead of Scotland’s matches with New Zealand, Australia and Japan at Murrayfield and then the final’s weekend at Twickenham.

Leatherbarrow plays at openside flanker, where Tom Christie has been superb since moving to the club, and blindside flanker, where Max Hicks has caught the eye this season, but he has put in some stunning performances off the bench to earn his call-up.

Newcastle boss McFarland acknowledges that Leatherbarrow epitomises the improvements that the club have made this season since they were able to bring in over 20 new players during the summer.

“I think that would probably be a good way of putting it. With Ollie, it’s a combination of the effort and the competitiveness. He’s a great athlete. His ball carry is a super strength of his, but playing back row is multi-faceted.

“You have to be able to get through a lot of work as well, and he’s done that. I think he’s got special moments in him, so you never characterise him as a grafter because he’s not only that. He works hard, but he’s got special moments too.

“I know that we’ve had a number of players who have been on the radar of international teams at the moment, and if you’re not playing rugby that’s competitive, those guys don’t get a look in.

“A big part of Red Bull is giving people wings, and we’ve got a lot of ambitious young men. A lot of them want to play for their country, and that’s a goal for me personally is to support them in the pursuit of their ambition to play for their countries,” he told RugbyPass.