Steve Borthwick insists England new boy Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is ready for whatever his native Wales throw at him in Saturday’s Six Nations clash at Twickenham.
Cardiff-born Feyi-Waboso has chosen to represent England ahead of Wales, in a move that has gone down badly in some parts of his birth nation.
Wales boss Warren Gatland said other coaches in the country had been “disappointed” by the 21-year-old's decision to pick England.
Feyi-Waboso left Cardiff after failing to secure a place to study medicine at the city’s university, landing at Wasps’ academy and studying at Aston University. Wasps’ administration saw him relocate to Exeter, to resume his rugby with the Chiefs and his degree at Exeter University.
Red Rose boss Borthwick has hailed Feyi-Waboso's commitment to England, after his debut off the bench in the 27-24 win over Italy in Rome last weekend.
Borthwick insisted there was no temptation to take Feyi-Waboso out of any external storm this weekend, with the highly rated wing again taking a seat on the bench.
Asked if he had considered taking him out of the firing line, Borthwick replied: “Not from my point of view.
“He came on last week and did really well. He has been an incredibly calm, composed and mature character. He’s trained very well and in the little time I’ve known him he doesn’t seem to get fazed.
“I only have good things to say about him.”
Borthwick has promoted Feyi-Waboso ahead of other far more experienced operators, and remains convinced the developing talent has what it takes to thrive in the Test arena.
On why the former Wasps wing is ready for the step up to international level, Borthwick said: “First and foremost that’s through his performances.
“Manny is a very confident guy. He understands our defensive system, because it’s pretty similar to the one at Exeter, which isn’t beneficial. He isn’t fazed by anything.”
"I just think that it's showing how proud you are to be Welsh. If you don't want to be Welsh then p*** off.”
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 8, 2024
🏴 Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland addressed rumours of any bad blood after Immanuel Feyi-Waboso declared for England. #GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/Xj6FfRw7gM
New England captain Jamie George has insisted the Red Rose side are determined to persevere with their fresh approach to the attack, comprising a more expanded style.
All five of last week’s debutants have retained their place in England’s matchday 23, with the Red Rose side showing an unchanged starting XV for the first time since the 2019 World Cup final.
Fraser Dingwall will continue at 12, with Ethan Roots again selected at blindside flanker. Alongside Feyi-Waboso on the bench, Chandler Cunningham-South and Fin Smith are also primed for their second Test appearances.
George hailed the new recruits for adapting to Test rugby with precious few issues.
“There’s a huge excitement around the squad as a whole in terms of building on the performances,” said George.
“We’ve said it a million times since Saturday, it’s not exactly where we wanted to it to be. But the courage and endeavour to try to do things a little bit differently, to play at a higher intensity, was there.
“Naturally as a player you just want to get into the next thing. Steve has been trying to pull us back all week, because it’s England-Wales and we are back at Twickenham.
“Everyone wants to put their hand up. We really want to try to build on the foundations we laid in Rome.”
