"Fuel to your Fire" - Tom Roebuck: wing makes his England statement after repeat 'rejections'

Roebuck, born in Inverness, Scotland, but dedicated to a career with the Red Rose upon his chest, has been a main-stay in the Sale back-line since his Sharks debut in the 2018 PREM Rugby Cup. Roebuck has steadily climbed the ranks of the Salford club and is one of the first names on Alex Sanderson's team sheet, with a lead role in the starting back-line since his break-out season in 2021.

Roebuck earned his first senior England cap in a 2024 Summertime clash away to Japan, and followed this up with a couple of Autumn appearances, including in a tough defeat to against South Africa. Roebuck's Six Nations debut would follow in 2025, as after steady progression and a relentless attitude to proving his worth, Roebuck has achieved 'unignorable' status for Steve Borthwick and the England selectors. The wing expressed how after nearly four years of England contention, he is still as hungry as ever to get his name upon the back of a white jersey.

"The fact that we’ve got such quality in the squad – and in the back three department with Manny [Feyi-Waboso] and Freemo [Tommy Freeman] taking the reins over the last year – is special. It shows the strength in depth we have in England. Even with the boys not here today, some who have been in camp and some who haven’t, shows there is such quality in that back three.

"You’ve got to take it in your stride. Everyone suffers a bit of rejection in this game. Whether you’re selected or not, you’ve got to use it as fuel to your fire and hopefully you can come back better the next week and get an opportunity. And when you do, that’s the time you have to take it."

"I keep it [frustration] all inside, to be fair. My missus comes back and asks me how it is and I’m like ‘we’ll talk about it another time’. I just use it as fuel to the fire for myself and take it from there."

Roebuck got his shot in this past Saturday's Autumn Series win over Australia, as Steve Borthwick rolled the dice with a positional alteration to regular starting wing Tommy Freeman. The Northampton Saints man has steadily explored a role in the centre at club level, with Borthwick also utilising the powerful outside back in the midfield for England's 2025 Six Nations closer against Wales last March.

The positional shift opened the door up for Roebuck to occupy a space in a starting jersey, with a neat partnership formed in the back-field with Manny Feyi-Waboso and Freddie Steward. The inclusion of Roebuck, Steward and Freeman heavily implied that a kick battle was set to ensue under the Allianz floodlights, with the game-plan playing out to the expected outcome. England ruled the skies with Roebuck making some key involvements in the air, which led to the tries from Ben Earl and Henry Pollock.

"It’s always an area that, personally, I try to take in my stride and it’s a contest at the end of the day. You can go out and physically dominate your man or your opposition. That’s the way I look at it. It’s a battle in the air at the end of the day and you can see some big collisions." The Sale man said.

"Today, with the wet weather and the rain pouring down at some points, it was an area that we maybe went to a little bit more than we have done in previous games. I’ll relish that and I’ll try to get up and get the ball back every time for the lads." Roebuck added, in the post-match media session. "We did score two tries off it, so it showed that we did alright."

The win over the Wallabies was certainly a significant win for England, yet a contingency of Sale club mates had their own milestones marked at the match. Having surpassed his century of England caps out on the Summer tour of Argentina, George Ford led out the side to a thunderous ovation ahead of kick-off. Then at the 51st minute, Luke Cowan-Dickie cantered off the bench to mark his 50th cap for his country. Roebuck expressed how much it meant to the Sale boys this week.

"It’s hugely special for both of those players and, for us as teammates and Sale boys, it’s massive to be able to support them when they do it. Fordy did it in Argentina and we were all around him and buzzing for him. Dickie, I think, has had an amazing story. The fact that he got 50 today with his nearest and dearest around him was massive for us."