Six Nations - England v Scotland: Bryan Redpath’s pride as son Cameron picks Scotland

The Bath centre, 21, had represented England Under-20s and gone as far as being chosen by Eddie Jones for the senior squad’s tour of South Africa in 2018 only to pull out due to injury.

He even scored a try against Scotland for England in the 2019 Six Nations Under-20s Championship but last month finally decided to plump for the land of his father and was selected in Gregor Townsend’s Six Nations squad.

From there, Redpath – who was born in France when his dad played for Narbonne – has been picked to start, ironically against England, in their tournament opener at Twickenham today.

For his father, the former Scotland scrum-half who captained his country and represented them at three World Cups, it is brilliant news.

Asked if he was deep down delighted with the decision, Redpath, who was Yorkshire Carnegie head coach from 2015 to 2017, told The Yorkshire Post: “Yes, of course. Of course!

“The whole family is. Obviously, Cameron didn’t do it for anybody else; he did it for himself.

“He knows that that makes us very proud and we’re proud of him anyway. I’ve supported him all through his England stuff – 18s, 19s, 20s – and as parents we’re proud wherever he’s played.

“But this does mean a wee bit more to all the family in Scotland who haven’t seen him really growing up as he’s lived in England.”

He attended Sedbergh School when his dad – who hails from Galashiels and played for Gloucester and Sale Sharks – was working in Leeds and joined Sale Academy where he made his breakthrough before last year’s switch to Bath.

Redpath, 49, added: “I am chuffed to bits for him. It’s not been an easy decision along the way. I think he just felt, the opportunities that Gregor has offered him over the last 12 to 18 months, and he said ‘no, and no, and no.’

“And then obviously England’s got an abundance of players and Eddie was probably looking more to the 2023 (World Cup time), so he felt this is maybe the right time and the right decision.

“He’s spoken to certain people and he’s come up with this. It’s a big thing for anybody and he wrote down all the pros and cons of both and what’s the best opportunity and environment for him to be in and that’s what it came down to.”

Unfortunately, with the game – which marks the 150-year anniversary of the sport’s oldest fixture – being played behind closed doors, Redpath will not be at Twickenham to see his son debut.

He admitted: “That’s the hardest thing about it. But Cam isn’t a nervous bloke so it doesn’t matter to him if there’s a crowd there or not. He’s pretty calm about it; he knows it’s a step up and it’s going to be tougher and he’s also playing against one of his best mates in (fellow England Under 20s centre) Ollie Lawrence. There’s Tom Curry as well who he had a lot of time for when at Sale. But he’s just looking forward to it all.”

Redpath was captain when Scotland last won the title in 1999 and he played his fair share of Calcutta Cup clashes in a Test career that stretched from 1993 to 2003, more often than not, with Townsend beside him at fly-half.

Champions England have not lost against Scotland at Twickenham since 1983 but Redpath predicts a tight game today. He said: “Look at the teams on paper, there’s not much in it. The front-row is a good match. At lock, (Maro) Itoje is world-class, no question. But the back-row will be highly competitive and there’s not much in the backline either.

“Some of the England players haven’t played since NovemberThe sides are very, very evenly matched and it will come right down to discipline and controlling position without kicking the ball away all the time.”