Tom Roebuck (born 7 January 2001) is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays for

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

Early life

Roebuck was born in

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He attended

Christleton High School Christleton High School is a large academy school located in the small village of Christleton on the outskirts of Chester. The Headteacher is Darran Jones. The School offers education from age 11 to 18 and has its own Sixth Form. Three current ...

before moving on to Wirral Grammar. He played youth rugby at

Chester RUFC Chester Rugby Union Football Club (also known as Chester RUFC) is a rugby union club based in Chester, Cheshire. The club is governed by the Rugby Football Union and the 1st XV currently competes in the fourth tier of the English rugby union ...

. While at Wirral he played in the 2018 U18 Vase Final at Twickenham stadium. They were defeated by Langley School 48–22, although Roebuck did score a try in his side's defeat.

Club career

As part of Sale Sharks' Under-18 squad Roebuck played in their undefeated tour of Ireland in 2017, beating both

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

and

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

development sides. Roebuck made his debut as a senior Sale Sharks player in the opening match of the inaugural Premiership Rugby Cup on the 26 October 2018, a 35–3 defeat to

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...

. He signed his first senior contract with Sale in November 2018. He made a handful of appearances for the first team in the 2019–20 season and scored his first senior try for the club in a 17-36 Premiership Rugby Cup victory over

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. Roebuck made 5 Premiership appearances in the 2020–21 season, starting on the wing in 3 matches. He began to appear for the first team with a much greater regularity during the 2021–22 season under Sale's new DOR

Alex Sanderson Alexander Sanderson (born 7 October 1979 in Chester) is an English former rugby union footballer who played in the back row during the 1990s and 2000s for Saracens and Sale Sharks. He is the brother of Pat Sanderson who also played rugby fo ...

. During this run of appearances he scored his first try in the

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

in a 25–19 defeat to

ASM Clermont Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

. Roebuck went on to score a brace of tries in the following match against the Ospreys, securing a 49–10 victory for Sale. Roebuck again scored in the away leg of the Round of 16 against

Bristol Bears Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

. Sale would then fall in the quarter finals to Racing 92. Roebuck scored his first try in

during Sale's 35–26 win over the league leaders

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

, and followed this up by scoring two tries in the next round against Harlequins which ensured a 14–36 victory for Sale at the Stoop. Roebuck started regularly for the club for the remainder of the season and scored a try in Sale's final game against Bristol in a 42-19 win. Sale finished 6th and qualified for the 2022-23 Champions Cup.

International career

Roebuck was first called up for an

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

age grade training camp in September 2017, at the age of 16. He was subsequently called up to an England Under-17 training camp in February 2018. In May 2018 Roebuck was called up to the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Under-18 7s squad for the

Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consisten ...

qualifiers held in Panevezys,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. They were defeated by Germany in the quarter-finals and eventually finished fifth, failing to progress to the Youth Olympic Games. Roebuck was first called up to the England Under 18 squad in July 2018 for the Aon U18 International Series in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He featured in all 3 of England's matches during the tournament: a 41–21 loss to France Under-18, a 26–20 loss to Wales Under-18 and a 41–22 loss to South Africa Schools. Roebuck scored two tries in the match against South Africa Schools. Roebuck was next named in the England Under 18 squad for fixtures against

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in March 2019. He scored two tries in England's 36–21 win over Scotland. England Under-18 coach

Jim Mallinder David James Mallinder is a rugby union coach and former player currently working with Scottish Rugby as performance director. He is a former head coach of Sale Sharks, England Under 21s, England Saxons and Northampton Saints. Playing career ...

named Roebuck as part of his squad for the 2019 U18 Six Nations Festival. Roebuck started on the wing for England's 38–20 win over

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, while he was not selected for England's win over

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

or their loss to

. Roebuck was named as part of an England Under-20 training camp in November 2019. He went on be named as part of England's Elite Player Squad for the 2020 Under-20 Six Nations in January 2020. Roebuck started all 4 of England games which were played before the tournament was ended early by the effects of the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, scoring a try. He was then selected for a friendly against a

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

XV in March 2021 and for a friendly against a

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

XV two weeks later. Alan Dickens, England Under-20 head coach then named Roebuck as part of the squad for the 2021 Under-20 Six Nations Championship. Roebuck made his first appearance off the bench in England's 15–24 victory over

in the 3rd round of the competition. He then started England's wins over

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

as they secured their grand slam. He was called up to the senior

squad for a training camp in October 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roebuck, Tom 2001 births Living people Sale Sharks players English rugby union players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Inverness