Canadian rugby international Evan Olmstead signs with Newcastle Falcons

NEWCASTLE, England – Newcastle Falcons have signed Canadian rugby international Evan Olmstead for next season.

The six-foot-five 247-pound forward, born in Vancouver but raised in Australia, joined London Scottish in January after playing for Canada at the Rugby World Cup. The 25-year-old lock has won seven caps for Canada.

“Evan is a typically hard Canadian player who brings a real no-nonsense edge to his play,” Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards told the club website. “He will fit in well with the type of game we are trying to implement and we are delighted to have been able to secure his signing.”

With one round remaining in the Aviva Premiership season, Newcastle stands 11th in the 12-team league with a 5-15-1 record.

Olmstead was born in Canada but moved to Australia when he was three. His father John elected to move the family Down Under to join a friend who had a startup company in Sydney.

Olmstead, who has played club rugby in Australia and for the Prairie Wolf Pack in the Canadian Rugby Championship, comes from sporting genes.

His father, who passed away in 2008 at 52, was once offered a contract by junior hockey’s Edmonton Oil Kings and went on to become a rugby player of some renown himself. A past president of the Capilano Rugby Football Club in North Vancouver, he is honoured when the Capilanos play UBC in the annual John Olmstead Memorial Cup game.

Evan’s great-uncle, the late Bert Olmstead, is a Hockey Hall of Famer who played for Chicago, Montreal and Toronto from 1948 to 1962.