by Few would have predicted that the New Zealand-born former cage fighter and jiu-jitsu champion would compete for Steve Borthwick’s Six Nations squad. But like his impressive array of performances this season for Exeter Chiefs, Ethan Roots’ colorful story would make most people sit up and take notice.
Six years ago, the striker, who qualifies for England through his father, was working 10-hour shifts for an Auckland-based construction company as a construction worker after leaving school with no qualifications.
Rugby was a feature during his school years but, after he gave up the sport as a teenager due to stunted growth, the idea of pursuing it professionally faded quickly.
In an effort to curb his rebellious streak, Roots pursued other opportunities in mixed martial arts, including a brief, albeit memorable, stint in cage fighting at age 16.
“I tore the guy’s biceps tendon off,” Roots recalls. “He was a 27-year-old farmer from the far north and he didn’t want to tap so I grabbed his arm. My mum still has it on video, not that I want it resurfaced. I got knocked down in the first round!”
The one-off tournament ended in a draw. But Roots’ promising reputation in Brazilian jiu-jitsu was proof of the raw athleticism and power to reach the top: he won eight different national titles, as well as a gold medal and three silvers at the Pan-Pacific Championships.
“The best way people describe jiu-jitsu is like human chess,” explains Roots. “I really enjoyed the mental and physical challenge that came with it. I started to grow my spurts, I went to over 6 feet.
“I was very serious about competing in jiu-jitsu so I started watching my diet. There was also a great appreciation for seeing the results, so everything that was put together was enjoyable.”
Due to the amount of time he spent wrestling with the mats and twisting others into chokeholds he was to return to rugby after his jiu-jitsu career was unceremoniously cut short. “Me and the [jiu-jitsu] the head coach’s daughter was dating at the time,” says Roots. “He found out about it and he didn’t like it and kicked me out of the club. It didn’t feel right to go back so no, I picked up rugby and fell in love with it again.”
Roots had a solid rugby foundation at Auckland’s Rosmini College, whose alumni include New Zealand-born Wales all-rounder Gareth Anscombe, before hitting the regional sevens, where he rubbed shoulders with Mark Telea .
His unorthodox way of playing rugby – which saw him skimp on hard-hitting transfers when he played for North Bay in New Zealand’s provincial national championship – never featured on the All Blacks’ radar.
“I’d get up around 4.30am, go to the gym, I don’t know what I was doing but jump on the bike, lift some weights and go,” says Roots. “I would work for 10 or 11 hours and then go to rugby training. I did that about four days a week, a break on Friday and having a game on Saturday.
“I might work on Sunday for a little extra money, depending on how much I spent that week. I’ve been there and done that so I know it’s a privilege to play rugby every day for a living.”
Roots wouldn’t secure his first professional contract at Harbor until he was 21, but it wasn’t long before he was being hunted by three of New Zealand’s Super Rugby franchises. He ended up signing for Scott Robertson’s Crusaders and found himself sharing an All Blacks dressing room with the likes of Scott Barrett. “It was nuts,” recalls Roots. “It was quite surreal, having been on the construction sites.”
But he struggled to adapt to the rigors of top level rugby. Roots made just one appearance for the club – and had a minute of professional rugby under his belt when he signed a two-year deal with Ospreys in 2021. It was at the Welsh club that he reinvented himself and began to pursue international ambitions he was chosen. up with Exeter.
An ardent supporter with many back-rowers, Roots represents a new wave of young Chiefs making up for their lack of experience in the Premier League, where they remain in the mix for the play-offs.
As well as name-checking Borthwick last week, the 26-year-old has already been established as a capable successor to Courtney Lawes. “He was a natural leader for us,” says Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter. “His maturity in the group is beyond his age. It never felt like gambling.”
In what feels like a full-circle moment, Roots, whose father was born near Reading but emigrated to New Zealand aged 15 with his adopted parents, has bonded with members of his extended family English after taking an online seniority test. , even welcoming some of his biological cousins to Sand Park for games.
Although the father-of-two is extremely proud of his Maori blood, which he inherits from his mother’s side of the family – a large Maori tattoo stretches across his inked back – Roots has no qualms about wearing the red rose.
“Even if I was born here, I’d still be proud Maori and proud British,” says Roots, whose partner, Tessa, is an international basketball player for the New Zealand women’s team, the Tall Women. “I don’t think there’s any shame. I don’t speak much Maori at all. We didn’t grow up in the house with him, but my family still got over my back. It’s an honor to be lost and get their attention. I would be more than happy to take on the responsibility, if I had the chance.”
Should he be named in Borthwick’s England squad on Thursday, Roots could have his biggest fight on his hands yet – the one to earn a first Test cap.
