CAMERON REDPATH – who represented England at Under-20s level and was selected to tour South Africa with the senior England team in 2018 when still only 18 before injury ruled him out of that trip – has been named at inside centre for Scotland in Saturday’s Six Nations opener against the ‘Auld Enemy’ at Twickenham.
The 21-year-old Bath player will form an exciting midfield partnership with Finn Russell at stand-off. Sean Maitland returns on the wing, while Matt Fagerson gets the nod ahead of Gary Graham at No8, and Jamie Ritchie has recovered from his head-knock to start at blindside flanker.
George Turner starts at hooker in place of the injured Fraser Brown and Stuart McInally, while Edinburgh hooker Dave Cherry is in line to make his international debut off the bench.
Richie Gray will make his first appearance since March 2018 after being named as a replacement.
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“This most historic of fixtures against England is a great start to the 2021 Guinness Six Nations and a challenge we will fully embrace with the objective of playing to our potential and ultimately lifting our supporters in these difficult times,” said head coach Gregor Townsend.
“We learned a lot about ourselves and where the game is going during our Autumn campaign, and we aim to build on this base during the next seven weeks. We are set for a huge challenge against England as we will be facing one of the best teams in the world.
“It’s always a pleasure to welcome a new player into our squad and we are looking forward to Cam Redpath winning his first cap on Saturday. We have been really impressed with Cam’s contributions in the time he has been with us in camp. There are a number of experienced players in the backline to help make his transition to Test rugby go as smoothly as possible, and he has the mindset and skillset to thrive at this level.
“The opportunity of competing for the Calcutta Cup against our oldest rivals is something to get Scots around the world excited about.”
Scotland (v England on Saturday, at Twickenham Stadium, kick-off 4.45pm GMT): S Hogg©; S Maitland, C Harries, C Redpath, D van der Merwe; F Russell, A Price; R Sutherland, G Turner, Z Fagerson, S Cummings, J Gray, J Ritchie, H Watson, M Fagerson. Substitutes: D Cherry, O Kebble, W Nel, R Gray, G Graham, S Steele, J van der Walt, H Jones.
England: E Daly; A Watson, H Slade, O Lawrence, J May; O Farrell©, B Youngs; E Genge, J George, W Stuart, M Itoje, J Hill, M Wilson, T Curry, W Vunipola. Substitutes: L Cowan-Dickie, B Obano, H Williams, C Lawes, B Earl, D Robson, G Ford, M Malins.
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