Gary Graham shocks England with incredible snub to Eddie Jones by accepting Scotland call-up

GARY GRAHAM shocked England by accepting a Scotland call-up - despite pinning his colours to Twickenham this year.

In an incredible snub, the Newcastle Falcons back-row turned his back on the Red Rose, 10-months after being given a shot by Eddie Jones.

Stirling-born Graham qualified through residency and angered his dad and ex Scotland prop, George, by doing so.

After his surprise call-up earlier this year, Graham said: "I would f***ing love to play against Scotland, make 1,000 tackles and shove it in their face — but it might have to wait until next year.

"My face didn’t fit... I’ve got a bit of a chip on my shoulder about it. Never in a million years did I think I’d be picked for England.

"Gregor Townsend called me about playing for Scotland. I told him I’d be stupid not to want to play for England.

"England want to be No.1 in the world and I’m not sure Scotland will ever be anywhere near. I’ve grown up here so, yeah, I feel more English than Scottish."

His dad added: "He’s got a bit of c*** in him."

But the confused flanker said on Monday: "I’m Scottish through-and-through, but England asked me first as I’m eligible through residency.

“It would have been a silly opportunity to pass up, as I hadn’t been selected for a Scotland squad since under-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 added: “It 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.

“We’ve been tracking Gary since he was at Jersey and his form over the past 12 months at Newcastle has moved him closer to playing international rugby."

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