Redpath pins his colours to England

CAMERON Redpath will force his father Bryan to cheer on England today after being named on the bench to take on France U18s in Aylesbury.

While Redpath senior made his name with Scotland’s thistle on his chest, his son, who is attending Sedbergh School, has opted for the Red Rose.

The England 23 has been selected from a wider 38man squad who will also face Scotland next Sunday and Wales on March 26, ahead of the U18 International Series in April.

Also named in the squad are Bishop Wordsworth’s Cadan Murley and Warwick’s Nick Rigby, who should have captained their schools in the NatWest Cup semi-finals at Allianz Park yesterday but had to pull out following their international call up.

Headlining the XV are Wasps blindside Tom Willis, who has played in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, and fly-half Marcus Smith, who turned out for England U20s against Italy a week after leading Quins to the Premiership academy title.

Scrum-half Will Porter has also featured in the A League and Anglo-Welsh Cup for Wasps. Willis will be joined in the back row by Saracens captain Sean Reffell at openside and Sale Sharks No.8 Sam Moore.

There are two more players who were involved in the U20s win over Italy, as Worcester College’s giant Ted Hill starts in the second row and Exeter College’s Marcus Street is at prop.

Head Coach John Fletcher said: “This is an exciting opportunity, the French team are unpredictable and physical so players will have to adapt throughout the game to compete.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how they perform over the next six fixtures in which we will select different combinations allowing everyone in the squad a good opportunity to play.”

France are led by Daniel Brennan, son of former Toulouse and Ireland hardman Trevor.