The 'quite weird' Redpath reaction to his Scotland unavailability

Cameron Redpath is finally back to full fitness and raring to go with Scotland, but the Bath midfielder is unavailable for this Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series opener versus Australia even though his club have a bye week in the Gallagher Premiership.

Gregor Townsend confirmed last week when announcing his 40-strong squad for the four-match series that Scotland would only be able to select their home-based players to take on the Wallabies due to the October 29 game taking place outside the agreed player release international window.

It means that Townsend is down ten options this week as nine of his chosen 40 - including Redpath - are contracted to Premiership clubs while Rory Sutherland recently hooked up with Irish URC club Ulster following the demise of Worcester.

The curiosity, though, is that Bath have no top-flight match this weekend as their fixture at Worcester was cancelled when the Warriors were suspended for the remainder of the 2022/23 season. However, that club-front idleness won’t free up Redpath - or his roommate Josh Bayliss - for Scotland and he will instead only become available to play from the November 5 Fiji match onwards.

“It’s outside the window so we are not allowed to (play) which I do agree, I find it quite weird,” said Redpath during a guest appearance on this week’s Rugby Pod show with Andy Goode and Jim Hamilton.

“I’d love to have the opportunity to play, especially as we have got a bye week. But it is probably not something I can go and argue about. I am just happy to be fit for once in camp and hopefully, I can get a shot over the next three weeks to show people what I can do again. I’d love to play but it is weird and I don’t know why it is like that. I know England have four games as well, which makes it even weirder again, but no, I don’t think I will be allowed (to play this week).”

The 22-year-old Redpath is hoping to finally get an injury-free run with Scotland as his Test career has been restricted to just two caps, a debut start versus England in February 2021 and a blink-and-you-missed cameo off the bench eight months ago against Wales.

“Both times I did my neck afterwards and never played again,” he admitted before specifically talking about his debut nearly two years ago at Twickenham. “Definitely, it was as weird as anything. I didn’t really feel like I was playing an international. The game was tough and I was absolutely shattered after it but a few beers helped and the flight back was good.

“Unfortunately, I was sat next to Finn (Russell) on the flight and he wouldn't let me be seen without a drink. It was a good flight home but for me, it was all weird that it all happened. I had this dodgy neck at the time and I couldn’t do a press-up the morning of the game - and I didn’t want to tell anyone because I can’t pull out this late.

“Me and Ollie (Lawrence) playing together at (England) U20s, it was both of us at twelve playing against each other and we hadn’t spoken all week and we normally do, we stay in touch quite often.

“It was just a big occasion and it felt (like) a big occasion building into the week but the day of it, because it was so quiet at the stadium with nothing really going on, I was really relaxed and it didn’t feel like an international at all. We played the game and the next morning I told them I couldn’t do a press-up.

“At the time they thought, ‘Two weeks, I’ll be back’. I thought I was going to be back for the back end of the Six Nations and never made it back until ten weeks after a neck injection, and then the following year I did exactly the same thing.

“My international career so far hasn’t really felt like an international career. It feels like I get in camp for a week and then I go home again. I’m rooming with Josh Bayliss up here at the minute and this is the first time we have both been here without some sort of injury. He has always been concussed or I have had a big neck or knee issue or something.”