Archie McParland

Last updated

Archie McParland
Date of birth (2005-02-17) 17 February 2005 (age 20) [1]
Place of birth Birkenhead
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Weight89 kg (14 st 0 lb; 196 lb)
School Packwood Haugh
Oundle School
Stowe School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum half
Current team Northampton Saints
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2022– Northampton Saints 25 (30)
2023Bedford Blues (loan) 3 (0)
Correct as of 27 August 2025
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2023– England U18s 9 (20)
2024– England U20s 11 (15)
Correct as of 19 July 2025

Archie McParland (born 17 February 2005) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum half for PREM Rugby club Northampton Saints.

Contents

Early life

Born in Birkenhead, he attended boarding school in Shropshire and then at Oundle School in Northamptonshire and then Stowe School. He joined the Northampton Saints academy at U13 level. Initially a fly-half he switched to scrum half in 2020. [3]

Career

He became the youngest player in the professional era to play for the Northampton Saints first-team when he played at the age of 17 years and 222 days old against London Irish in the Premiership Rugby Cup in September 2022. [4] In March 2023, he was promoted to the senior academy at Northampton. [5]

The following season he scored a hat trick of tries in the competition in an 82–12 win over Doncaster Knights. [6] He made his Premiership Rugby debut in October 2023 against Sale Sharks. [7] He spent time on loan at Bedford Blues in the Rugby Championship during the 2023–24 season. [8]

He signed a new long-term contract with Northampton in February 2025, having only missed one game in the Premiership that season. [9]

International career

In 2023, he played for the England U18. [10] He played as part the England national under-20 rugby union team which won the 2024 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. [11] [12] In November 2024, he was called up to the England A national rugby union team. [13] In June 2025, he was named in the England U20 squad for the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship. [14]

References

  1. "A.McParland". itsrugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  2. "A.McParland". All.Rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  3. Heagney, Liam (7 February 2024). "Archie McParland: 'Competing with Alex Mitchell is quite nice'". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  4. Sansom, Tom (27 February 2024). "England U20s: Archie McParland – Northampton Saints' Youngest Ever Player Is Igniting the U20 Six Nations". Ruck. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  5. Vickers, Tom (13 March 2023). "Saints confirm six talented youngsters will join Senior Academy" . Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  6. "Archie McParland: Northampton coach predicts big future for teenage scrum-half". BBC Sport. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  7. Vickers, Tom (15 October 2023). "Saints left to rue missed opportunity as Sale grind out win in Premiership opener" . Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  8. Jaycock, Ben (10 December 2023). "Young Guns: Northampton scrum-half Archie McParland". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  9. "Scrum-half McParland signs new Northampton contract". BBC Sport. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  10. Vickers, Tom (28 February 2023). "Saints trio selected by England Under-18s as coach Parkin also gets the call" . Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  11. "Under-20 Six Nations: England come from behind to beat France and clinch title". BBC Sport. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  12. Kelleher, Will (14 March 2024). "'They're all freaks' – the England pack driving towards Under-20 title". The Times . Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  13. Morgan, Charlie (6 November 2024). "Gabriel Ibitoye called up to England A squad for Australia fixture". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  14. Raisey, Josh (19 June 2025). "England name squad for U20 world title defence with 8 champions returning". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 25 June 2025.