Newcastle Red Bulls sign Scotland international until end of the season

The 26-year-old, who is capable of playing at both fly-half and full-back, has earned ten caps for Scotland. He made over 50 appearances for Munster before spending the past three seasons in Edinburgh.

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 foot 3, the County Tipperary native expressed his enthusiasm about the move 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.”