Scots battling England for Sale winger Roebuck
SALE’S uncapped wing Tom Roebuck will go into tomorrow’s Premiership final at Twickenham as the subject of a cross-border World Cup tug of war between England and Scotland. Roebuck was called up by Eddie Jones last October for England’s training camp in Jersey but has yet to make his international debut. The 22-year-old grew up in Cheshire but was born in Inverness and it has emerged that Scotland have made enquiries about him, while Steve Borthwick has also been in touch, ahead of finalising his pre-World Cup squad selection. Alex Sanderson, Sale’s director of rugby, confirmed that Roebuck — a powerful runner and proven try-scorer — is in demand, saying: ‘Scotland have been knocking and Tom has had a call from Steve (Borthwick), rightly so, because he wants to keep his options open, regarding back-three selection. ‘Let’s face it, the competition is high, with (Henry) Arundell, (Anthony) Watson, (Freddie) Steward and all those guys. There are good wingers around. But these are the games that count.’ Roebuck, who has scored eight league tries this season, may have an allegiance dilemma but the prospect does not appear to faze him. ‘I’ve not really made too much of a decision about it because I haven’t had to yet,’ he said. ‘I’d love to play international rugby. ‘At this point, I have not had to worry too much about it. That’s a good position to be in.’ Asked how he enjoyed the experience of training with England last autumn, the rising rookie added: ‘It was good. Every rugby player wants to play international rugby, so to be a part of a camp was massive. ‘I think it was really insightful to see what other players in my position are doing. That was a key factor for me, what I can show and what I can take to make me a better player, so I am involved in future camps.’ Gregor Townsend is not short of options at wing with Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Kyle Steyn, but the possibility of adding a long-term prospect of the calibre of Roebuck — not to mention getting one over on England — would be a great way to celebrate the new deal he struck to remain in charge of Scotland.