‘I’m building’ – Sale Sharks star Tom Roebuck reveals his England goal ahead of the upcoming Test window
Tom Roebuck scores for Sale Sharks.
Tom Roebuck admitted his confidence was sky-high after scoring another Premiership brace to reinforce his England claims.
The Sale Sharks winger, 23, bagged a deadly double in last night’s thumping 43-10 home victory over Newcastle Falcons.
It was the second successive match in which 6ft 2in Roebuck had scored twice following his two tries in last week’s home win over Gloucester.
England goal
As Red Rose boss Steve Borthwick prepares to name his squad for the November internationals on Wednesday, Roebuck is certainly in fine fettle.
The homegrown star made his England debut off the bench against Japan during the summer and spent time in camp with Borthwick’s squad earlier this week.
Asked where he was at form-wise right now, Roebuck replied: “I’m building.
“You’re never perfect and I always like to believe that because you want to strive for something more.
“So while I definitely don’t think I’m perfect, I’m content, although in these last two games there are things to work on.
“I’ve had some good conversations with both sets of coaches – at Sale and England – in the past two weeks about what we can go after so I’m definitely looking to build into that.
“We’ll see what happens from there, but it would mean the world to be involved in the autumn internationals, obviously.
“That’s my goal and I’m not going to be content with just playing one game for England.
“I want to push on and get as many caps as I can.”
Roebuck’s form last season – when Sale made the Premiership play-off semi-finals where they lost to Bath – saw him earn inclusion in the England squad for their summer tour of Japan and New Zealand.
He came on against the Brave Blossoms for his senior bow and is now plotting towards the autumn series against New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
The Red Rose experience
Scotland-born Roebuck was part of a 36-man England squad for a three-day England training camp earlier this week. The squad assembled on Monday and trained at Pennyhill Park and Twickenham, with Roebuck and Sale team-mate Luke Cowan-Dickie involved.
“It was good – there were a lot of familiar faces,” added Roebuck.
“It was a pretty similar squad to the one who went on tour in the summer and felt nice to be part of it again.
“Me and Dickie did two days down there – Monday and Tuesday – before coming back to Sale to prepare for the Newcastle game.
“I came back here feeling pretty good – being part of the England squad gives you confidence to go and excel.
“There is also the fact that we’ve got such a good group of lads who keep you honest, supported and feeling as confident as you possibly can.”
Roebuck certainly proved that by touching down twice against the Falcons.
He finished off a fine flowing move for his first try and then expertly fielded Rob du Preez’s kick, smashed through a Newcastle defender and scored his second.
Sale boss Alex Sanderson was gushing about Roebuck’s aerial prowess after the game and the imposing wideman said: “I like to think I’m just getting started in the next part of my journey.
“I’ve played for Sale for a good few years now and I’m happy with that – I feel like I want to grow more.
“But with the international stuff, hopefully that’s a journey I’m only just starting.
“The England squad is announced on Wednesday, so we’ll have to keep our eyes peeled over the next few days.”