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Scotland delight as flanker Gary Graham turns his back on England

Back to his roots: Gary Graham has turned his back on England after being called up by Scotland: Getty Images
Back to his roots: Gary Graham has turned his back on England after being called up by Scotland: Getty Images

Scotland have called up the Newcastle flanker Gary Graham, who was an unused player in England’s Six Nations squad this year.

The 26-year-old son of former Scotland prop George Graham and a former Scotland Under-20 qualified for England on residency grounds, having grown up in Carlisle, so was called up by Eddie Jones and considered one that got away by Scotland.

At the time, Graham spoke about his disappointment at slipping through the Scottish system, telling the Mail on Sunday in February: “I’d love to play against Scotland next week, make 1,000 tackles and shove it in their face, but it might have to wait until next year.”

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend never gave up on luring Stirling-born Graham back and now has called him up for their remaining autumn Tests against South Africa and Argentina after Blade Thomson suffered concussion.

“I’m Scottish through-and-through, but England asked me first as I’m eligible through residency,” he said. “It would have been a silly opportunity to pass up, as I hadn’t been selected for a Scotland squad since U-20s.

“I’m absolutely delighted to get this opportunity. I phoned Gregor 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.”

Townsend was delighted, saying: “I was great to hear from Gary that he wanted to commit to Scotland. It has become a competitive environment for dual-qualified players recently and we know that these are not easy decisions for players.”

Meanwhile, Jones believes injury-ravaged England’s opening two autumn Tests have “increased the depth of the squad immeasurably” for the World Cup.

In the agonising but promising one-point defeat to New Zealand on Saturday, Sam Underhill and Chris Ashton joined Ben Moon and Mark Wilson in making big impressions in England’s new-look side.

Jonny May supported Jones’s assertion, saying: “We won by a point last week, they won by a point this week. These games are tight. We are in it. People didn’t give us much of a chance. We’ve definitely shown that we are capable of doing it. I am convinced that we’ve got more growth in us, between now and the World Cup, than them.”