FROM RENEGADE TO REDEMPTION

His dad joked he was a traitor but Graham is thrilled by second chance with Scotland

NINE months ago, he was the one who had got away. And nobody, not even Gary Graham himself, seemed particularly happy about it. In an exclusive interview with

Sportsmail following his call-up by Eddie Jones to the England squad for the Six Nations, Graham and his father George, the former Scotland prop, discussed in frank and forthright fashion the decision he had made over his international future.

Questions had been asked as to why Scotland had let the Newcastle back-row forward, born in Stirling, slip through their grasp. Certainly, it appeared Graham junior wasn’t best pleased with his treatment.

‘I’d f***ing love to play against Scotland next week, make 1,000 tackles and shove it in their face,’ he told Sportsmail.

Asked why he wasn’t picked for Scotland after representing them at Under-20 level, he continued: ‘My face didn’t fit and I have got a bit of a chip on my shoulder about it.’

His father jokingly branded him a ‘traitor’ and a ‘turncoat’ but ultimately expressed his pride that his son was going to play international rugby. Except it didn’t quite happen.

Injury put paid to his hopes of pulling on an England shirt during the Six Nations, with Jones then ignoring him for the summer tour and his autumn Test squad.

Yesterday came the surprising news that he had changed his mind. England was not, after all, the country closest to his heart. As quick changes of direction go, it was akin to a Stuart Hogg sidestep.

‘I’m Scottish through-andthrough but England asked me first as I’m eligible through residency,’ said the 26-year-old following his call-up to the Scotland squad for Saturday’s match against South Africa.

‘It would have been a silly opportunity to pass up, as I hadn’t been selected for a Scotland squad since Under-20s.

‘I’m absolutely delighted to get this opportunity. I phoned Gregor (Townsend) to assure him I wanted to play for Scotland and always wanted to play for my country. It’s where I’m from and where I played most of my rugby.’

Whether everybody is convinced remains to be seen. Indeed, when asked yesterday if the Scotland squad would welcome Graham with open arms, assistant head coach Matt Taylor didn’t strike an altogether convincing tone.

‘It is hard for me to gauge as I am not one of the players,’ offered Taylor. ‘But the key thing is that he feels very Scottish.

‘I was lucky enough to play with his dad George at the Borders and I don’t think you will find anyone more Scottish than his father.

‘Gary has been brought up supporting Scotland, we are happy to have him and he has decided he is going to be trying to play for Scotland.

‘When he got called up by England at the time, we thought he was lost to us. We had been looking at him and he had gone there.

‘He is aggressive, abrasive and confrontational which is what you want in a back-row player. He has as big a chance of playing against South Africa as any player in our squad.’ Jamie Ritchie, who is one of the players Graham will be competing against for a back-row spot against the Springboks, joked the newcomer may, at least, find himself on the end of some wind-ups following his comments.

‘It is easier to judge a person when you have met them and this will be the first time I have met Gary properly,’ said Ritchie. ‘I think I played against him when he was playing for Gala and I was playing for Heriot’s when I had just joined Edinburgh.

‘Everybody gets a round of applause when they join the squad and it will be good to get to know him. It’s another person who is here and most likely deserves to be here if he has been selected.

‘I am sure there will be a few gags about it, though...’

In Graham’s defence, he has certainly not had it easy in his career.

Although he played for the Scotland Under-20 team with the likes of Finn Russell and Hogg, he was never offered a professional contract with Edinburgh or Glasgow Warriors.

He worked as an apprentice electrician while playing amateur rugby for Gala before English Championship club Jersey Reds offered him his first professional deal.

He joined them in 2015 on a salary of £18,000 before his career started to hit the heights when he signed for Newcastle Falcons in the summer of 2017.

Although Townsend had him on his radar, he had his head turned by Jones, who called him up to his squad for the Six Nations.

Graham was a travelling reserve for the match against Italy and Jones was considering playing him against Scotland at Murrayfield before he was forced to pull out with a neck injury.

Or perhaps it was fate intervening on behalf of his father...

‘I am over the moon at him being called up,’ admitted George to

Sportsmail yesterday. ‘Obviously, he was called up to England first and, from a rugby standpoint, I was really proud of him because that is a high level of rugby.

‘He is playing in a very tough, competitive league with Newcastle Falcons and I was delighted he had been recognised for his hard work by the England coaching staff.

‘He knows, though, that I am a very proud Scotsman and would have loved for him to play for Scotland. By the same token, if he had played at a very high level with England, as my son, I would have been very proud of him.

‘But at the end of the day, we are Scottish and I am delighted at the way things have turned out. I hope he takes his opportunity. He has made the right decision.

‘He can make the Scotland World Cup squad without a shadow of a doubt. If I take off my dad head and put on my coaching head, he has got a lot of attributes.

‘He is a dog. He is tough. He has good feet, he is quick and he is a good defender and he works really hard. He is very good at clearing breakdowns and his technical work.

‘When he knew Gregor was interested and maybe his options elsewhere could be limited, he did the right thing by committing to Scotland.

‘It is up to him now. His heart was always in Scotland. He played rugby for the Scotland Under-20s, so, obviously, he is Scottish through and through.’

For Scotland, having another quality player at their disposal can only be seen as a positive. If it happens to ruffle some feathers with the Auld Enemy, perhaps that is just an added bonus.

I’d f***ing love to play against Scotland next week, make 1,000 tackles and shove it in their face

I am Scottish through Bold caption and Bold caption Bold caption through... Bold Bold caption caption I am absolutely delighted to get this opportunity