Newcastle Red Bulls go on north of the border raid for loan signing

Newcastle Red Bulls have announced the loan signing of Edinburgh’s Ben Healy until the end of the current season.

The 26-year-old, who has been capped 10 times by Scotland, played more than 50 times for Munster before spending the last three seasons in the Scottish capital.

With Ethan Grayson sidelined through injury, Healy will provide club stalwart Brett Connon with competition for the No.10 jersey, as well as covering full-back.

Sporting general manager Neil McIlroy said: “Ben is a quality addition who will greatly boost our playing pool between now and the end of the season.

“As well as providing injury cover for the likes of Ethan Grayson, he also gives us genuine competition at fly-half, and he will be available for selection straightaway.

“In addition to all the planning we are doing for the longer term, we are also fully committed to finishing the current campaign strongly, and having Ben on board will help us achieve that goal.”

Standing at 6’3, the County Tipperary native welcomed news of his switch to Tyneside, saying: “I’m excited to be playing in a new competition, exposing myself to a different style of rugby.

“Gallagher PREM Rugby is a great production and it will be fantastic to be involved with that, having watched it so much over the years.

“Working with a legendary fly-half like Stephen Jones is also another big draw, and it’s an exciting time to be involved with Newcastle, considering everything going on around Red Bull’s investment at the moment.”