No Borderers in Scotland national rugby team’s match-day squad for third game on trot and first time since 1921

Winger Darcy Graham’s injury woes continuing and lock Glen Young being overlooked by head coach Gregor Townsend mean that replacement centre Cameron Redpath, one of ex-Melrose scrum-half and Scotland skipper Bryan Redpath’s sons, is the closest thing to a representative of the region in the Scots’ 23-strong squad, as was the case for their opening 27-26 win away to Wales and 20-16 home loss to France.

Jedburgh’s Young is the only Borderer in the Scottish squad at the moment and it looks likely to stay that way now Hawick’s Graham is no longer expected to recover from a groin issue in time for their last two matches of the tournament – away to Italy in Rome on Saturday, March 9, with kick-off at 2.15pm, and against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, March 16, at 4.45pm.

Young, 29, is currently on three caps, all picked up in 2022, and Graham, 26, on 39 since 2018.

French-born Redpath, 24, was brought on as a 72nd-minute substitute for Luke Crosbie in Cardiff on Saturday, February 3, and replaced Huw Jones on 76 minutes at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium a week later.

Redpath’s Bath team-mate Finn Russell and former Southern Knights flanker Rory Drage co-captain Scotland’s starting line-up, also featuring Blair Kinghorn, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben White, Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings, Jamie Ritchie and Jack Dempsey.

Alongside 11-times-capped Redpath on the substitutes’ bench are Ewan Ashman, Alec Hepburn, Elliot Millar-Mills, Sam Skinner, Andy Christie, George Horne and Ben Healy.

Looking ahead to head coach Steve Borthwick’s English side visiting this weekend, ex-Gala and Border Reivers player Townsend, 50, said: “It’s our most important game of the season.

“It’s the most important game for our supporters and we also play for a trophy in amongst the triple crown and other trophies, but this is one that we’re focused on more than the others. That probably shouldn’t be the case, but it is.

“It’s history, it’s emotion. We’ve seen the impact this game has on Scottish supporters when we do manage to get a victory in this fixture. That’ll drive us on Saturday.”

Ahead of kick-off tomorrow at 4.45pm, Scotland are third in the table, with five points from two fixtures, three points and one place behind their visitors.

They’ve won their last three Calcutta Cup matches against England, though, and will now be looking to extend that winning run to four matches for the first time since 1972.