Steve Borthwick has confirmed his interest in selecting Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for England ahead of Wales, revealing he has contacted the Cardiff-born Exeter Chiefs wing following the 21-year-old’s sparkling start to the season.
Borthwick, the England head coach, also hinted that back rower Ethan Roots, another influential figure in Exeter’s recent success, would compete for a Six Nations squad to be announced in two weeks.
Roots, a rugged and combative flanker who was born in New Zealand and represented the Crusaders before arriving at Sandy Park via two years with the Ospreys. The 24-year-old qualifies for the English selection through his father.
Former England Under-20 international Greg Fisilau is a third potential debutant who has caught the eye of Borthwick. The versatile Fisilau, still 20, is also a capable flanker on the open side but still found himself at the heart of Exeter’s scrum. There he strung together a series of industrious performances, both in domestic matches and in the Champions Cup against Toulon and Munster. Fisilau, Roots and Feyi-Waboso are all recognized for their roles in a confident Chiefs team that has defied its inexperience.
Tommy Freeman, influential in Northampton Saints’ rise to the top of the Premier League, was another player to receive plaudits from the England head coach, as did Henry Slade. Something of a post-World Cup reset is needed as Courtney Lawes, Ben Youngs and Jonny May have all retired from Test rugby, with Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi and Tom Curry among a contingent of senior players who will be absent for the start of the competition. at least the Six Nations.
On a more optimistic note, Borthwick will have Dan Cole available for the Six Nations and have been encouraged by the efforts of Maro Itoje, Ben Earl and Alex Mitchell since the World Cup. However, there is room to introduce new faces among the more experienced names.
“As you watch all these Premiership and European games, there’s a group of young players starting to emerge, young players who are really championing their cause,” Borthwick said.
“People like Fisilau at Exeter, Feyi-Waboso at Exeter, to name a few, those guys are impressive. Without wanting to just talk about Exeter, as Ethan Roots plays [is also impressive].
“There are players who missed out on the World Cup squad and have handled it in a way that is really impressive, like Tommy Freeman, who plays in the middle. [and] wing.
“Sladey, he was unlucky to miss the last 33, and to play the way he’s playing now, he’s been excellent. Then you have the boys who are back from the World Cup, the English boys have played a lot.
“Maro is playing well, Ben Earl is back from injury and it’s great to see him back on the pitch. The way Alex Mitchell is playing, there is a lot of competition for places at the moment.”
Feyi-Waboso, like Fisilau, joined Exeter following the demise of Wasps in 2022. A Cardiff Academy graduate, who left Wales for the West Midlands to continue his medical studies, he is elusive in attack and aggressive on the defensive. He was especially influential in the 24-14 win over Bristol Bears on Friday night. Warren Gatland could of course still thwart Borthwick by including Feyi-Waboso in the Wales squad, which will be announced a day earlier than England’s on January 16. That said, Borthwick appears to have taken a straight-talking approach.
“I talked to both players, yes,” Borthwick said of Feyi-Waboso and Roots. “I call A [Six Nations] selection on January 17 and what the players have to do is play well and earn their place in the squad. It’s a competitive mix.
“If we look at the Premier League now, there are a lot of teams playing well, there are a lot of teams competing. Obviously I have an overview of all the performances of the teams and individuals and how everyone is playing, but we are also seeing record attendance at the weekend, the viewing figures are up.
“We see a competitive league with the number of teams competing to make it to the top four. It’s a good competition. We see how well the teams did in the first two rounds of Europe. I see a lot of good performances.”
Loosehead prop is a position that could cause a lot of headaches ahead of England’s meeting with Italy on February 3. Mako Vunipola is suspended for four games after a red card against Newcastle Falcons, while Ellis Genge, Joe Marler and Bevan Rodd are all currently nursing injuries. varying severity. However, Borthwick believes there is a talented group of front rowers in the pecking order below.
“To go through the three at the World Cup, Ellis, Joe and Bev, Bev will not be participating in the Six Nations,” Borthwick said. “He is injured, so not available. Ellis is currently returning from a hamstring injury. In about a week he will have some more tests so that we can get a clearer picture of how the healing has gone. Hopefully he is very close to the start of the Six Nations. I won’t know exactly when for another week or so, but he will be very early in the Six Nations if the plan goes well.
“Joe got hurt here [at Twickenham, playing for Harlequins against Gloucester], an arm injury, Saturday evening. I spoke with Joe yesterday and that is currently ongoing, what exactly he will miss and how much time he will miss is unclear. We hope he will be available, but that is yet to be determined.
“Besides that, Beno Obano has played well at Bath, in terms of other options. Beno is playing very well in Bath. Finn Baxter from Harlequins is playing well. Joe speaks a lot. The players, the really good players, know who is another potential player to come through. Talk to Joe, he speaks very positively about Fin Baxter and the potential he has.
“You see Tarek [Haffar] at Northampton got injured and came back to play well. Some good young props, [Phil] Brantingham at Newcastle is a good young prop. Obviously there are players who are less experienced and younger, but there are also guys who are playing well.”