By Nik Simon I ripped off a guy’s biceps tendon in a cage fight
Meet ETHAN ROOTS, Exeter’s brawling Kiwi on England’s radar
In his early 20s, Ethan Roots was working on a building site in north Auckland, earning below the minimum wage and questioning what his future held.
He had already tried his hand at cage fighting and Brazilian jiujitsu, mastering the art of placing his opponent into submission by breaking bones or choking them unconscious.
His rugby career was a slow burner. He missed out on the All Blacks pathways and flicked two fingers at the world when he pulled out of his final school exams.
‘I went to Rosmini College, a rugby school, but I kind of fell out of rugby there,’ says the forward. ‘I stopped playing rugby. I just wasn’t enjoying myself. I was terribly out of shape — not that I’m in the best nick now.
‘We started doing mixed martial arts in the summer and I kind of got hooked on that. Blood, sweat and tears on the mats. I liked the thinking of it. The best way people describe jiu-jitsu is like human chess. I just really enjoyed the mental as well as physical challenge that came with it. It’s a bit like wrestling but you have to choke or break something. Snap a joint — you’re not actually trying to do that — but you do the moves that you’re doing that force them to tap.’
now 26, he looks back on his days in the ring with a smile. ‘Cage fighting was good fun. I was 16 at the time and on the Tuesday I got offered a fight on the Saturday. It ended up in a draw but I ripped the guy’s biceps tendon off. He was a 27-year-old farmer from the far north and he just did not want to tap and I had him in an arm bar and he let his arm go on him. ‘When you cross the white line here in rugby, you’re with 14 other guys. When you cross the line to walk into the cage it’s just you — and the guy who’s trying to take your head off. It was different. A rush. I enjoyed it. Long story short, me and the jiu-jitsu coach’s daughter were dating at the time. He found out about it and didn’t like it, that it was sort of behind his back. He kind of expelled me from the club so I picked up rugby and fell in love with it again.’
Tough, physical and uncompromising, Roots has stuck with his fighting traits. He was not given his first rugby contract until the age of 21, earning his keep in the construction world while he waited for his big break.
‘It was about four years out of school until I got a professional contract. I wasn’t in any academy. I’d get up about 4.30am, go to the gym, have no idea what I was doing but jump on the bike, lift some weights and get out of there. I’d go to work for 10 or 11 hours and then head to rugby training. I did that about four days a week, break on Friday and have a game on Saturday. I might work Sunday for a little bit of extra cash, depending on how much money I’d spent that week.
‘I was building houses, residential work. I built for threeand-a-half years before I got my first professional gig. When things went badly in rugby, I thought I could just go back to the building site and enjoy my days. I wasn’t used to being a professional and there were some things I couldn’t deal with. That was my mindset at the time, anyway. That didn’t last too long.’
Roots played four minutes of profes
sional rugby in new Zealand, appearing off the bench for the Crusaders in the southern derby against the Highlanders in 2020. Scott Robertson, now in charge of the All Blacks, was his head coach but Roots had visions of a career overseas.
His father was born in Reading and moved to new Zealand on a migrant boat, having been adopted as a teenager. Roots was always eligible for a British passport and he signed a contract with the Ospreys, before moving to Exeter, where he began to track down his long lost family. ‘It was a bit of a fresh start for me. I got away from a bit of drama, was able to find myself and fall in love with the game again. I’m eligible for a British passport, so could get a visa, and it was all easier than if I was a foreign player.
‘My old man was born here, and lived here until he was about 15. He was born just above Reading, and was adopted by my pop who was from Blackpool, and my Omi (grandmother) who’s German. They came over.
‘They were Ten Pound Poms who came over on the boats. I guess they were looking for a fresh start as well. They all live over there now. We did this blood test, My Heritage, to find out what makeup our kids had.
‘I started getting all these texts from random people I didn’t know, claiming to be my dad’s biological family. They now regularly talk with my dad. A few of his biological cousins have come to a few of the games. The Bath game and the Leicester game. We’re all starting to reconnect. Some of them are Roots, that’s my English name.’
And his name is now on the radar of Steve Borthwick and his England selectors. name-checked last week alongside his Exeter teammates Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Greg Fisilau, Roots offers a 17st 11lb back-row option with the additional ability to jump in the lineout. With Courtney Lawes moving into retirement and Tom Curry ruled out with injury, Roots is in contention for a fast-track ticket.
‘I would still consider myself a pretty raw rugby player, pretty green. Coming here they just saw some bits and pieces they thought they could add to. I think they definitely have and that’s probably the reason I’ve been able to catch the eye of Steve and his team.
‘My new Zealand Maori heritage is from my mum’s side. Even if I was born here, I’d still be a proud Maori and a proud Brit. I don’t think there’s any shame in that. I don’t speak a whole lot of Maori. We didn’t grow up in the house with it but I’ve still got my family across my back. It’s a huge honour to just be name-dropped and to have caught their attention.
‘I’d be more than happy to take on the responsibility, given the chance. It’s lovely to be namedropped but all that stuff takes care of itself if you just worry about your next performance.’
For Roots, the next performance comes against Glasgow today, when he will pick up his tools and try to steer Exeter into the last 16 of the Champions Cup.