England snub ‘putting himself back in the eye’ of Steve Borthwick as PREM boss predicts it ‘won’t be long before’ he is recalled
Ethan Roots (right) has not featured for England since the 2024 Six Nations
Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter is confident back-row forward Ethan Roots can make a return to the England squad sooner rather than later, despite missing out on the initial 36-man mini-camp for the Autumn Nations Series.
Roots, 27, won all four of his England caps during the 2024 Six Nations, but has been dipped in and out of the wider squad in the time since. Most recently, he made the travelling group for the tour of Japan and New Zealand, and also featured in the same minicamp this time last year.
The New Zealand-native has impressed in his Test outings to date, notably winning Man of the Match on debut in their opener against Italy in Rome.
‘I don’t think it’ll be long before you see him there or thereabouts’
The England back-row is by no means an easy group to break into at the minute, even with Ben and Tom Curry sidelined and Tom Willis out of the Test picture too.
British and Irish Lions tourists Henry Pollock, Ben Earl and Ollie Chessum are all possible options to start in the back-row this Autumn, while Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill, Alex Coles, Guy Pepper and Emeka Ilione were also named in the initial 36-man squad for the three-day camp.
But despite that competition in his position, Baxter is confident his man can work his way back into the side in the near future.
“I think he just has to carry on with how is doing (to get back in the squad),” Baxter said. “He’s worked extremely hard in pre-season, he’s a key member of the squad, he’s driving all the correct messages on how we want to play and turn up, and then he’s following through with it himself on the field. He’s playing with great physicality and great discipline at the same time, which is tough to achieve.
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“That puts him back in the eye (of Steve Borthwick), and I don’t think it’ll be long before you see him there or thereabouts if he carries on the trajectory he’s on.”
While having the backing of your DoR is always nice, his glowing words of Roots have certainly been earned this season. The imposing forward has been a standout for the Chiefs in their early PREM season, and capped that off with a stellar Man of the Match showing against Harlequins on Sunday.
“I don’t think he’ll be far off,” Baxter added. “There are A games as well, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him involved in those. He’s got to maintain his form this weekend against Gloucester, and if he does, I can see him being there or thereabouts in those two squads.”
Roots isn’t the only player in the Chiefs back-row gunning for a spot in the England squad, either. Number eight Greg Fisilau has seen his name increasingly thrown into the Test conversation in recent years, and like Roots, has been dipped in and out of the wider squad in the past. The former Wasps man has also impressed for England A.
“When Steve comes down, we talk about Greg,” Baxter said of the 22-year-old. “He’s been in and around the EPS squad, so he’s there or thereabouts.
“I haven’t spoken to him in the last couple of weeks about him because he was injured in the run-up to the start of the season, but he’s back and fully firing now.
“He’s one of those guys I could fully expect to be involved in one of those squads down the line if he continues playing as well as he does and we continue our form.”
