A jinxed Welsh rugby player with a family connection to the Outer Hebrides looks set to earn his first cap playing for Wales.

Josh Macleod has been attempting to get his first cap since 2020, but each time injury has struck just hours before to deny him.

Now that elusive first appearance for the Welsh rugby side may finally be within the back-rower’s grasp after being consigned to the sidelines for more than two years. Macleod looks set to be in the starting lineup in the home clash against Georgia at the Principality Stadium.

If Taulupe Faletau or Justin Tipuric are rested for the forthcoming finale against the Wallabies, Macleod will likely be handed the No.8 or No.7 shirt.

Equally, if injury-hit Dan Lydiate is ruled out, Macleod could step in at No.6, the position he was originally slated to occupy. The worst-case scenario is a seat on the bench.

Macleod, a fluent Welsh speaker, has explained his roots are not in Wales but in Scotland and Monte Carlo.

Writing in his Welsh Rugby Union column, Macleod said: “My dad used to be a fisherman on the Outer Hebrides. But he moved to Monaco to skipper yachts, and my mum went with him to work too. All of a sudden, I came along. So I was born in Monte Carlo.”

When he was around five, he moved to west Wales and began playing rugby at eight. He represented Wales at U16s and U20s level and became an integral part of the Scarlets squad.