Callum McLelland

Callum McLelland (born 16 September 1999) is a Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Midlands Hurricanes in the RFL League 1.

He has previously played for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, and has spent time on loan from Leeds at Featherstone Rovers in the RFL Championship.

Background McLelland was born in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. He qualified to represent Scotland through his grandfather, born in East Ayrshire.

McLelland attended Castleford Academy. He played his junior rugby league for his local team Castleford Lock Lane before being picked up by the Castleford Tigers academy.

After progressing through the Tigers academy system, in November 2017 McLelland left the club to cross codes and join Edinburgh Rugby Union. This was through the Scottish Rugby Union's 'Scottish Qualified' scheme. McLelland said, "Lads in rugby league don’t get opportunities like this, to travel the world and represent your country constantly through the year. It’s a life-changer for my family to be able to live up in Edinburgh and I can really start to make a name for myself."

Club career Leeds Rhinos In August 2018, after less than a year with Edinburgh Rugby Union, McLelland switched codes again and signed for the Leeds Rhinos on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

On 12 April 2019, McLelland made his professional debut for Leeds against Workington Town in the Challenge Cup. On 11 May, he scored his first try for Leeds against the Bradford Bulls in the following round of the cup. He made his Super League debut on 16 May against the Castleford Tigers.

McLelland made a further 13 appearances for Leeds, scoring 1 try, with his playtime severely restricted by injury.

Featherstone Rovers (dual registration) In June 2019, McLelland joined Championship side Featherstone Rovers through their dual registration arrangement with Leeds. He made 12 appearances and scored 4 tries, appearing in every play-off game as Rovers eventually finished runners up in the Million Pound Game. McLelland was assigned the squad number 16 for the 2022 season, although a patella tendon injury sustained while at Leeds persisted and prevented him from making an appearance. However, in June, head physiotherapist Matt Crowther revealed that McLelland had unfortunately "suffered a further setback in his recovery". On 21 June, Castleford confirmed that the two parties had come to an agreement on the early termination of his contract.

Midlands Hurricanes On 8 December 2023, it was announced that McLelland had signed for Midlands Hurricanes in League 1.

Representative career

England rugby league McLelland was named in England's elite under-15s squad in August 2015, captaining and scoring in the 52-12 victory against Wales under-16s at Taffs Well.

McLelland captained the England Academy side in 2017.

Scotland rugby union McLelland's move to Edinburgh Rugby Union through the 'Scottish Qualified' programme saw him play for the Scotland national under-20 rugby union team. He made his debut in the Under-20s Six Nations and also went on to play in the World Rugby Under-20s Championship, On 26 October, he made his senior international debut and scored a try in Scotland's 86-0 victory over Serbia. On 1 November, he scored 2 tries in Scotland's 42-24 victory over Greece, securing qualification for the 2021 World Cup.