RFU and SRU set for tug-of-war over starlet with a famous name

The England U20s side to take on their Welsh counterparts this weekend was named earlier today and there was one particularly noteworthy name included.

Cameron Redpath, who still attends Sedbergh School and remains eligible for the England U18 team, starts at inside centre for the age-grade side, having been fast-tracked up from schoolboy rugby.

The son of famous Scottish scrum-half Bryan Redpath, Cameron is also eligible for Scotland and this could be the beginning of an arm wrestle between the RFU and SRU for Redpath’s long-term allegiance.

With Redpath still at school in England and part of the academy at Sale Sharks, representing the England U18 and U20 sides makes sense, but his options are well and truly open beyond that.

The RFU have not put up too much of a fight in the past when certain English-born or English-raised players of Welsh or Scottish ancestry have made the move away and switched allegiances, but Redpath is an extremely high-calibre talent and one who the RFU will not want to let get away.

He has a rare blend of size, speed and technical ability and one former Sale player described him as “the best academy player I’ve ever seen”, marking him out as a talent that could rise to the top sooner rather than later.

He is also very comfortable at fly-half and full-back, something which could particularly alert the SRU, who are losing Finn Russell to France later this year and will be searching for options at 10 over the next couple of seasons.

As of right now, Redpath is more than happy playing his rugby in England with Sale and the prospect of declaring for a nation is not one that he must deal with just yet, but it is something which both unions will be keen for him to do.