THE journey from being a working accountant to an international rugby player is hardly a well-trodden one, but for Newcastle Falcons forward Evan Olmstead, it is the story of the last two years.

From ties to tries, sums to scrums, Olmstead has swapped the Australian finance branch of a worldwide pharmaceutical company for the playing fields of the Aviva Premiership.

He has travelled halfway around the world to pursue a sporting career, established himself as a regular in the Canadian national squad and featured in last autumn’s Rugby World Cup finals.

Little wonder that as we sit down to discuss his experiences in the clubhouse at Kingston Park, he still finds himself chuckling as he reflects on how far he has come.

“Three or four years ago, I was done with uni and was working in finance for Johnson & Johnson in Sydney,” said Olmstead, who joined Falcons in the summer, having spent the second half of last season with Championship side London Scottish. “I’m an accountant by background.

“I had trained with New South Wales Waratahs, but broke my ankle when my coach, Michael Foley, moved to Western Force. I missed the boat a little bit as a result, there was a big gap between that and the next level of club rugby and you had to work a day job and go to the gym or train at night.

“You plug away, and after playing Under-20s I started getting myself involved with Canada A towards the end of 2014. That’s when it started to become more of a stretch with work because I was having to get more and more time off.

“I was working for a company called Striker at this stage – they make plates and screws which are used when people get injuries – and they were really good to me. Since I got my nose in the Canada squad for the Rugby World Cup last year, it has been a bit of a whirlwind.

“In the space of a year-and-a-half, I went from being an accountant playing provincial rugby to being an international and Premiership full-time player.”

Olmstead doesn’t look like an accountant, but then he doesn’t really look like a Premiership star either. With his long flowing hair, which is generally tamed by a ponytail or bandana, and wild bushy beard, he looks like he should be surfing on Bondi Beach or playing bass guitar for the Kings of Leon.

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Instead, he finds himself driving on a Falcons pack that has been earning accolades for its power and precision this season. Dean Richards’ side might only have won two of their opening five games, but two of their losses were extremely narrow ones and the common consensus is that things have moved on markedly from last term.

Olmstead’s arrival has been a part of that, with the 25-year-old successfully taking the step up to the top-flight in his stride. His determination shines through, both on and off the field, and is perhaps a result of his unorthodox route to the top.

“Maybe it helps that I haven’t come through the traditional (academy) route,” he said. “We have the RPA (Rugby Players’ Association) who come here and are always challenging guys about what they are going to do after rugby.

“That’s already sorted for me because I’ve already qualified and done the job, although I was always very jealous of those guys who were in academies. They had those in Oz too, and I would have loved to have been in them. It’s the golden ticket if you can get in.

“I didn’t, but I’ve always backed myself to say that once I get an opportunity, I will make it. I always thought to myself quietly that once I make it to a team, then I will start playing for it, whoever it might be.”

Having turned heads in pre-season, Olmstead, who is equally comfortable in either the second or back row, has been an ever-present in the Premiership, making a significant contribution to Newcastle’s wins over Sale and Gloucester.

“It’s generally been quite positive,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of really close losses, a couple of victories and obviously one terrible game at Bath. Leading on from an unbeaten pre-season to beat Sale in our first league game, we had a pretty good performance against Leicester and a great result at Gloucester the week after.

“We can’t complain in some ways - we are in a decent spot compared to where we were last year and hopefully we’ll just keep pushing onwards.”

Today’s game, which pits Falcons against a Bristol side still searching for their first win of the season, marks the end of the first tranche of Premiership matches before the European break. Win today, and Olmstead’s side could find themselves in the top half of the table, something that would represent tangible progress.

“We finished 11th last season, so Bristol will see this as a bit of a cup final,” he said. “But we also have our own targets we’re looking at.

“That obviously involves beating Bristol - you can’t be dropping games at home against teams who are below you in the ladder. We will absolutely put in our best performance and make sure we come away with four points.”