Old Albanian Rugby Club have pulled off a major coup with the signing of Saracens star and former Scotland captain, Kelly Brown.

The 34-year-old back-row forward, who won 64 caps for the dark blues, 15 of which came as skipper, was a surprise name in the OAs line-up as they opened their National One campaign with a stunning 35-3 win away to Blaydon.

Speaking after the game, Albanian player-coach James Shanahan explained the background to the deal.

He said: “We’ve got a good link with Saracens and he’s coming back from injury.

“He helped us with bits and pieces on the coaching side before Christmas last season. So when they said ‘is there a chance of getting game time and maybe a loan deal?’, we said yes.

“It’s potentially for the season but we’ll see how long it goes. If it is for the season it’ll be great for us but it was only confirmed last week.

“He was a bit tired as he’s not played 80 minutes for a while and he’s not used to a team throwing the ball from everywhere. He was wondering where our kicking game had gone, obviously coming from Saracens.

“But second half our kicking was much better so he was happier and smiling.

“So it’s great to have him and he adds plenty of experience to what is a young pack.”

Brown, who has been with Saracens since 2010, has just taken up an academy role with the club.