Newcastle Falcons have signed Olympic rugby sevens player Ollie Lindsay-Hague on a short-term deal.
Lindsay-Hague, who can play as a winger or full-back, was part of the Team GB side in Tokyo this summer and won silver with the squad at Rio 2016.
The 30-year-old has experience of 15-a-side rugby union with Harlequins, where he played 61 games and scored 10 tries before moving to sevens five years ago.
“Ollie is tremendously sharp and skilful,” boss Dean Richards said.
“He can play a multitude of positions, and I’ve been an admirer of his for some time. He’s renowned around the world as an exceptional sevens player, but he also has a lot of experience and ability in 15s from his time at Harlequins.”
Falcons had prior success when signing Marcus Watson – brother of Bath and England’s Anthony – from sevens.
The synthetic surface at Kingston Park is something Falcons hope will play to Lindsay-Hague’s strengths in terms of running rugby during his spell with the club, which Richards says will run “until around Christmas time”.
“I see myself as playing in the back three – that’s where I played my rugby with Harlequins, and I loved playing in any of those positions,” Lindsay-Hague said.
“I’m sure it’ll take me a few weeks just to get back into 15s mode after so long playing sevens, but I’m confident I’ll be able to make that transition and contribute positively to what the Falcons are trying to do up here.”
