The story behind Reuben Logan's big Scotland-England switch - and how dad Kenny pretended to be happy

Having now picked dark blue, the Northampton Saints flanker has made his dad very happy and his mum proud.

The son of Scotland hero Kenny Logan and gymnast-turned-TV presenter Gabby Logan (née Yorath), Reuben’s rugby talents were evident from an early age. He represented Wasps as a junior then signed his professional contract with Northampton Saints ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Still only 19, his international loyalties have wavered. He trained with Scotland at under-17 level but then played for England at an under-18s Six Nations Festival before progressing to the England U-20 squad, playing for them against Coventry RFC in May. He was also included in England U-20’s ‘Elite Player Squad’ for the 2024-25 season but has now switched sides and is part of Scotland set-up for the U-20 Six Nations which kicks off on Friday with a home game against Italy in Edinburgh.

It’s a decision that has delighted his father, a key member of the Scotland side who won the Five Nations in 1999.

“Yeah, he's pretty happy, I think,” said Reuben. “I think he pretended when I was with England that he was happy with it, but he really wasn't, and he's made that very clear now. He struggled with it, and I think he's [now] very, very happy. He's excited.”

His mum Gabby was born in Yorkshire during the period her father, the Welsh football great Terry Yorath, was playing for Leeds United but she represented Wales in rhythmic gymnastics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland. She is delighted to see her son follow her husband on the path to Scotland honours.

“I think she was just as emotional as my dad, because, obviously, she's seen my dad wear that shirt. I sent her the media photos and she got quite emotional seeing them, because my dad used to wear the same thistle.”

The first hint that he might be ready to switch sides came at the Euros when TV cameras homed in on him and Kenny sitting together wearing Scotland football kits at the match against Hungary in Stuttgart.

“We'd got the top, and I was like, ‘wouldn't it be fun if I was on the telly?’ I wonder if I'd get any flak for that,” he said. “And then at half-time, I looked at my phone and it was going ‘ping, ping, ping, ping, ping’ and that was just quite funny. Obviously I was going to wear a Scotland top to a Scotland game!”

Logan junior may still be a teenager but he is a big unit. Measuring 6ft 5in and weighing in at 18st 1lb, he should add some heft to the Scotland U-20 back row. Head coach Kenny Murray sees him as a No 8 but, until recently, Logan was playing in the backline.

“I must have been about 16, 17 when I moved to play back-row,” he said. “I think it's been good, but I do miss sometimes just sitting out on the wing looking pretty!”

Scotland will be sitting pretty if Logan continues to progress. He’s had a couple of games for Northampton in the Premiership Cup but his contract is up at the end of the season and he’s unsure of what the future holds.

“I'm really, really enjoying playing for Northampton,” he said. “It's difficult, obviously, to crack into that squad, but it's really just amazing to be around some of those players and just learn off them for as much as I can, because they really are, there's so many amazing players at that club.

“Boys like George Furbank, Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman, and obviously last year, Courtney Lawes, just watching him play and how he conducted himself on the pitch, it's just quite amazing to see, you know, people you watch on telly when you're younger, just how they do their day-to-day, you learn a lot from it.”

Logan says he’s not thinking too much about his contract. “It's up at the end of this year, not sure what's going on, obviously, we'll just have to see after the Six Nations.”

Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors are likely to be monitoring the situation, particularly if Logan impresses during the U-20 Six Nations. His route into Kenny Murray’s squad has not been straightforward and it involved Peter Walton, another member of Scotland’s 1999 championship-winning squad, whose job is to uncover Scottish-qualified talent. Logan said the decision to switch from England made sense for both practical and emotional reasons.

“Obviously, when I was younger, I was involved in the English set-up, and that was for a number of reasons. I wanted to sign for an English club, I was at Wasps - they went under - and it's much easier to get involved with an English club if you're in the English pathway,” he explained.

“As I got older, opportunities in England weren't necessarily there, and if you can find pictures of me online wearing a Scottish shirt in the summer, or wearing a Scottish shirt when I was younger ... I've always been a Scottish fan and when you see your dad play for Scotland, and you see all the rugby around the house, it's obviously quite inspiring. So when you need an opportunity, and you consider yourself Scottish, it's obviously quite an easy choice to make.”

His Stirling-based family on his dad’s side are all delighted with his decision and there should be plenty of backing for him at Hive Stadium on Friday, should he be selected.

“I think they're pretty keen to come and watch,” he said. “All the relatives took it harder than my dad actually when I was originally doing the England set-up!”