If you had said on the evening of February 6th 2021, that by now Cameron Redpath would have just four Scotland appearances under his belt not many people would have believed you.
That day the former England under-20 centre had just earned his first full Scotland cap and had put in a brilliant showing at 12 to help the visitors win at Twickenham for the first time in many years.
It may have been in front of no crowd due to the pandemic, but supporters watched on TV as Redpath, then 21, played with a swagger that belied his inexperience to get Scotland home 11-6.
He was the main man at that point, but a neck injury, knee and shoulder setbacks which required surgery, another neck issue and various niggles have meant the last two years have been ‘stop-start’ for him.
The good news for Bath and Scotland fans is that he has been playing regularly - and playing well - this season to date and is ready to attack the upcoming Guinness Six Nations with gusto.
Scotland open their campaign away to England on February 4 and Redpath told TRU: “It has been a tough couple of years for me, but I am feeling good now and I’m ready to push on.
“I think I’ve played 14 games this season [for club and country] and I think about 12 of them were for 70 or 80 minutes.
“Due to all of my previous injury issues at the start of the year, I didn’t expect to play this much rugby. At the start of the season, I set myself a target to get 10 games under my belt and having done that I’m now trying to find a bit of form.
“I feel pretty good in some aspects of my game, though some aspects have been quiet. That’s part of rugby, you can’t always be the best attacker or the best defender. As a centre, you have to adapt to the game that’s in front of you at the time and deal with what is going on at the time.
“I definitely feel I’m still trying to find my feet a little bit [at international level]. To find some form at international level would be pretty cool and that’s something I am working on.
“I definitely want to push on. I’ve wanted to do that for a few years, but I’ve been held back a bit with my body not being ready. Hopefully, I can now push on and play as much as I can. I would love to play every game I can possibly play [during the Six Nations].
“I am only 23 and I forget that sometimes”
Sometimes we all forget just how young sportsmen and women at the top level are.
Many of them break into the pro ranks in their late teens and early 20s and from there, it can be a rollercoaster of emotions.
Former Sale Sharks man Redpath has certainly had more ups and downs than most in the last four or five years, but everything that has happened has helped him grow up and be more philosophical.
“I am only 23 and I forget that sometimes,” he said. “I used to put quite a lot of pressure on myself to be playing every week. This season, I have got a lot better at dealing with things, for example if at times I miss a game here or there, whether it’s [the coaches] decreasing my load or if I get a whack, I understand it. I’m probably much better at dealing with that now.
“I know I have got to look after my body because if it is not up to scratch, I won’t be playing. The mental side of it [all the time out with injuries during 2021 and 2022] was tough, but I have got a good group of friends and family who were there for me throughout those times.
“I would love to have a good Six Nations, but there's a lot of competition for centre spots with Scotland.”
“It was pretty cool”: Laid back Redpath looks back on debut cap
As Redpath mentions, there certainly is a battle going on to earn the Scotland 12 shirt for next week’s game.
Assuming Gloucester’s Chris Harris starts at 13, Sione Tuipulotu looks to be the man in possession of the inside centre berth given his recent form for Glasgow Warriors, but Gregor Townsend is known to be a big fan of Redpath - and his performance at Twickenham two years ago will certainly boost his chances of starting too.
“It was pretty cool,” Redpath recounts, rather understating his debut and the win over England in 2021.
“It was weird with there being no fans and it being a first cap. It was strange, but overall it was a great day and a great memory that I will never forget - it [winning away against England] is something that I'm very excited to try and do again.
“I'd love to try and beat England with the full crowd this time and in the last few years, Scotland have had the momentum [in this fixture].
“It's definitely always tougher with a full crowd, but Twickenham is a cool place to play and I like to play places where it's noisy, so hopefully we can put in a good performance and kind of keep the crowd quiet.”
After a training camp that ran between Sunday and Wednesday at Oriam on the outskirts of Edinburgh, all the Scotland wider squad players are now back at their clubs and some will play in weekend fixtures.
They will then get back together on Sunday and travel to Spain for a few days of warm weather training before the matchday squad for the Calcutta Cup clash travels to London next Thursday.
