Five players who played for both England and Scotland, including Big Jim

The Calcutta Cup clash between England and Scotland stands as one of international rugby's oldest rivalries, dating back to their inaugural meeting in 1871, when teams fielded 20 players each. Since then, these two sides have fiercely contested for the coveted cup with relentless passion and determination.

In recent times, there has been a notable increase in players crossing the border. Individuals like Sam Skinner and Ben White, currently part of Scotland's squad, had previously represented England at junior levels.

A striking example is Alec Hepburn, the former England prop with six caps to his name. Following a mandated three-year stand-down period, Hepburn, born in Perth, Australia to a Scottish father, made the switch to Scotland just in time for the 2024 Six Nations.

Explore below to discover five more players who've experienced the unique distinction of playing for both nations.

The Bath playmaker, 21, played for England at U20 level but chose to join Scotland for the 2021 Six Nations, where he made his debut in their historic win at Twickenham. He was previously selected in England's 34-man squad for their 2018 summer tour of South Africa but was unable to travel with the squad because of injury

DID YOU KNOW? Bryan Redpath’s nickname as a player was “Basil” and whilst at Sale his son was given the nickname “boom boom” as a result due to the association with the children’s television character Basil Brush

The Gloucester centre scored a try for England Counties XV against Belgium. Four years later, Harris received his first call up to the senior Scotland squad by coach Gregor Townsend for the Autumn Internationals and his since accumulated 31 caps.

DID YOU KNOW? He studied at Northumbria University, gaining a 2:1 BSc in Architectural Technology in 2013

The winger is most notable as the first player to have represented two international teams in the Home Nations Championship (now the Six Nations), Scotland and England. He won two caps for Scotland in 1889 before representing the enemy three years later in 1892.

DID YOU KNOW? He was a General Practitioner by profession, holding a practice in Manchester for nearly forty years.

Born in Germany to an English mother and Scottish father, Dickson represented Scotland at the 2004 Under-19 World Cup before switching his international allegiance to England and being part of their Under-21 World Cup campaign a year later. He then went onto play first for the England Saxons before winning 18 senior England caps between 2012 and 2014

DID YOU KNOW? Dickon's older brother Karl Dickson is also a former professional rugby union player for Harlequins and England

Hamilton played for England at under-19 and under-21 level but decided to opt for senior honours with Scotland. He was the 1000th man to be capped by Scotland when he made an appearance off the bench against Romania on 11 November 2006.  He went onto win 63 caps in total.

DID YOU KNOW? He's briefly mentioned on Pottermore, in an excerpt written by J.K. Rowling for the website, suggesting that he is in fact a squib (powerless wizard) masquerading as a muggle (non magical person)