SUDDEN IMPACT
After turning his back on his native Wales, Feyi-Waboso has become a beacon of hope for stuttering England
IMMANUEL FeyiWaboso skipped England’s three-day training camp in York last week. The prodigious 21-year-old wing had a good excuse. He needed to sit a medical exam at Exeter University and England head coach Steve Borthwick gave him the nod.
It’s not the first big call that Feyi-Waboso has made of late. The Exeter Chiefs sensation sent shockwaves through the game when he decided to pledge his allegiance to England on the eve of the Six Nations.
Born and bred in Wales, this talented young outside centre decided to pursue his Test ambitions with the Red Rose. Unsurprisingly, there was quite the reaction back in his native land.
After two appearances off the bench, Feyi-Waboso is pushing hard for a maiden international start against Ireland.
Borthwick is feeling the heat after his side’s poor display in Murrayfield, with Feyi-Waboso providing one moment of real attacking quality with his late try.
On a night when the visitors made a whopping 25 handling errors and lacked any real attacking flair, Feyi-Waboso arrived into the fray and promptly scythed through a stunned Scots defence.
He has already drawn comparisons with former England and Lions wing Jason Robinson, with the same low centre of gravity, explosiveness and rapid footwork, and has earned rave reviews for his performances in the English Premiership all season.
Ireland will be quietly fancying their chances of keeping the Grand Slam show on the road with another victory at Twickenham on Saturday, but the presence of the electric Feyi-Waboso on the wing would give Andy Farrell pause for thought. He is one of the few backs on the England roster who has the ability to punch holes in this staunch Irish defence.
It has been a meteoric rise, breaking into the England set-up after crossing for eight tries in just 18 matches for Exeter.
So, how did England end up winning this international tug of war? For Feyi-Waboso, it wasn’t an easy decision.
Born to Nigerian parents, FeyiWaboso grew up as one of six siblings in Llandaff, beginning his club rugby journey with Rumney RFC while also showing an aptitude for athletics, specialising in hurdles and high jump.
His rugby education continued at Corpus Christi High School, moving through the Welsh age grades. After representing Wales at Under 18 level, he quickly broke into the Cardiff senior ranks, making his senior debut at just 18 against Ospreys in a 2021 Rainbow Cup game.
This talented young back was tipped for the big time and many within the Welsh system felt it wouldn’t be long before he was lining out for the senior national side with Gruff Rees, his former academy manager, singling him as ‘pretty special’ and ‘future Welsh international’ at the time.
However, Feyi-Waboso was eyeing up a big career move across the Severn Bridge. Despite achieving top grades, he was denied a place in Cardiff University
and set forth to Aston University in Birmingham to continue his dream of becoming a doctor.
He continued playing rugby and soon drew the attention of Wasps but the cash-strapped Premiership side went to the wall and Feyi-Waboso was quickly snapped up by Exeter.
Rob Baxter has a great eye for a raw talent and convinced him to head for Devon, the move helped by Exeter’s thriving university which could accommodate FeyiWaboso’s medical studies on the side. And the rest is history. Once Feyi-Waboso began to blaze a trail for the Chiefs, the next logical step was international rugby. Despite once saying that he would ‘love to be a Welsh international’, the youngster opted to go the England route.
It was a decision that did not go down well with Wales coach Warren Gatland.
‘He’s definitely got some talent, there’s no doubt about it,’ said Gatland in January.
‘He’s obviously had an approach
“He is a player
who can make things happen”