The advice 'special' Ethan Roots was given before joining England camp

Ethan Roots did not look like a player making his international debut at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, not by a long shot.

The Exeter Chiefs flanker in no way seemed overcome by the occasion, topping England’s carries chart in a player of the match performance and in the process looking like a player that could make the No6 shirt his for years to come.

It is not only on the pitch that Roots is making his mark with England, but he has found his “voice” in camp as well.

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Whether it comes from being just that bit older than the other debutants in the England squad – 26, compared to the 20-year-old Chandler Cunningham-South or the 21-year-old duo of Fin Smith and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – or whether it is the I-fear-no-man mentality that comes from his Brazilian jiu-jitsu background, but Roots has already emerged as a vocal presence in Steve Borthwick’s camp.

This attitude comes naturally to him though, but he was nevertheless advised by many before linking up with England to find his “voice”.

“I think energising other people and being vocal is just kind of something that I’m good at,” the New Zealand-born flanker said. “But lots of people told me coming in that I need to find my voice and keep it in camp, so I just try to do that.”

Roots brought that off-field energy to the Stadio Olimpico pitch on Saturday, as England earned their first round one victory in the Guinness Six Nations since 2019 with a 27-24 win.

What was more promising than his standout performance on debut was the fact that the blindside showed signs that he could be the answer to a problem that has plagued England since Eddie Jones’ era.

England have been light on bruising ball carriers in the pack in recent years. That is not to say that they have not had any, but often they have had fewer big carriers than the top teams. Their players have had strengths elsewhere, but their prowess with ball in hand in the tight has not necessarily been their strong point.

Italy are not the strongest side England will face this Six Nations, so fans should not necessarily get carried away, but there were signs in Rome that Borthwick may have found his ideal No6.

It was a display that caught the eye of former South Africa flanker Schalk Burger, who described him as a “proper carrier” and “special” on RugbyPass TV’s Boks Office. This is what the 110kg flanker sees as his “point of difference,” which he said his head coach called for leading into the Championship.

“Steve just said for everyone to bring their point of difference,” the former Maori All Blacks representative said. “And I think if I can get my hands in the ball, the more times I can do that the better for myself and hopefully, like today, for the team as well.”

What may have pleased Borthwick the most from the first match of the Championship was how adept his debutants looked in Test rugby. Fraser Dingwall joined Roots in the starting XV in making his first England appearance, with Cunningham-South, Smith and Feyi-Waboso all featuring from the bench, and while his head coach did not want to single anyone out, he did say the Exeter man looked “very much at home ” on the Test stage.

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“You don’t want to single individuals out,” Borthwick said. “It’s a special day for all five of them and a special day for me to be involved with them at the start of their England careers.”

“Just chatting to them in the changing rooms, they are going to be wearing the England shirt for a long time… I think Ethan Roots looked very much at home. He was outstanding.

“And for Fraser in the centres, when you have got a different combination – and that is one of the challenges of playing in the centres, having never played with that 10 and that 13 before – I thought he did really well to help glue that combination together.”

Behind his composed demeanour, Roots did admit that he was nervous prior to his debut, but said he received a lot of support from his teammates.

“You’ve got to be nervous about your debut game. And we really wanted to get the tournament off with a win. But I had a lot of support, the boys were really good.”