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England will be hoping Tom Roebuck can replicate the connection he enjoys with George Ford at Sale - Getty Images/Dan Mullan
Tom Roebuck is discussing the art of winning high balls. There is the way you track the ball with your eyes as well as the dedicated gym programme he is given at Sale Sharks to improve his explosive jumping power.
Then there are all the conversations he will have around the Sale training ground with George Ford so that Roebuck, who starts his first England Test against Wales on Saturday, will recognise the subtlest of cues that the fly-half is about to launch a high bomb. Yet for the technical and physical work the 6ft 2in winger spends on honing these fine details, winning a high ball is fundamentally a mental test.
When you are launching yourself several feet into the air with no crash mat to cushion your fall, it is often a case of who blinks first. The slightest flinch can result in losing a 50-50. So Roebuck, who sets himself a target of winning between four or six high balls through slapbacks or clean catches, needs to get himself in the right mental state before the game. And that means going to war.
“There’s the element of the skill and the practice of it making sure your body’s in the right position, but a lot of it is who wants it more,” Robeuck tells Telegraph Sport. “You might see a lot of lads who jump a bit hesitantly and you know they are not getting the ball back. You understand you may run into someone, you may get clattered in the air and come down a bit worse for wear, but you have to relish that side of the game and get yourself in that mental position where you are going to war.
“A lot of it is when you’re lining up to chase a kick, it is ‘I am going to get this ball back, I’m going to be the guy who gets this ball back’. Then you need to make sure you run as hard as you possibly can, put your whole body into the contest, rather than just your arm. Focus solely on the ball in the air rather than the people around you. When you are in the air, there’s definitely an element of who wants that ball more than the other guy. If you are willing to go that extra inch to put your body on the line then you are more likely to come down with the ball.”
This is not to say that Roebuck is a one-trick pony. He has racked up nine tries in 12 games this season for Sale. He highlights the match against Racing 92 in the Champions Cup where he scored one and set up a try for full-back Joe Carpenter as his favourite performance of the season. Playing opposite Henry Arundell, he won the battle in the air and on the ground and was always looking for work. “I don’t want to be a winger that sits on the edge waiting for the ball to come to him,” Roebuck said. “I want to go find it and get as many carries as I can.”
He has also made his tackling a point of pride under Sale’s new defence Byron McGuigan. “I want to be up there with the big boys, big hits,” Roebuck said. “Just because you’re a winger doesn’t mean you can’t do that. I’m not there yet. I’m definitely not the perfect [wing], far from it, but I want to make sure I can try.”
But as England head coach Steve Borthwick stated on Wednesday, it is Roebuck’s aerial ability that is his point of difference. Roebuck points out, this is not an element of the game you learn as a child or even really features at grass-roots level. It is not something everyone can do as anyone who has seen the half-time shows where fans often comically misjudge the trajectory of high balls. But in the elite game where winning back possession and territory is so important, it has become a crucial battleground which is why Roebuck dedicates so much time to it.
This is also why he has been thrust into the starting XV against Wales after three appearances as a replacement in 2023. “It is definitely a factor,” Borthwick said. “You look at how Wales have been playing in recent weeks, they’ve reduced the number of rucks and phases they play in their own half, gone more high ball and contestable kicks. [Gareth] Anscombe dropping into the pocket as soon as the ball is slow and putting high balls in. That’s the way they’ve chosen to play. I’ve no doubt that is what they will try and do this weekend. I think that is what they will try and bring.”
It is practically a rite of passage for a young English wing to be targeted under the high ball with 70,000 odd Welsh fans roaring themselves hoarse under the closed roof of the Principality Stadium. Yet if nothing else, Roebuck does not lack for confidence.
In all three of his appearances as a replacement, Roebuck made an instant impression for England. In his very first touch in international rugby, he left a trail of Japan defenders in his wake. Against South Africa he won one high ball contest against the world champions before scoring his maiden try against Japan at the Allianz Stadium.
As promising as these cameos were, Roebuck made clear in this interview before the Six Nations that he was not “comfortable” just being in and around the squad.
“Comfortable is not the word I would use,” Roebuck said. “I think if you’re comfortable, you’re sitting back, just enjoying the ride. I don’t think I want to just enjoy the ride. I want to push and compete in that squad. I still have not started for England. I have only played three times and they have all been off the bench. It is special, don’t get me wrong playing for England but it has not been amazing yet. I understand that. I would like to go on to get a number 14 or a number 11 on my back than a No 23 on my back. You can’t get a No 23 shirt framed really, can you?”
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