England ‘cognoscente’ of ‘external noises’ as starlet faces country of birth

England head coach Steve Borthwick insists that the side will be keeping a close eye on newly capped wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso who is set to face his country of birth, Wales, this weekend.

The Exeter Chiefs wing’s stock rose dramatically this season with some outstanding performances in the Premiership leading to a well-publicised tug-of-war between Wales and England over who Feyi-Waboso would represent at the highest level.

Conflicting decision

The starlet was born and raised in Cardiff but also qualified for England through his grandmother. The wing ended up choosing to play for the Red Rose with his medical studies at Exeter University playing a big role in the decision.

Typically the decision has not gone down very well with some in Wales and in the wake of heightened online abuse towards players, England will be keeping a close eye on the 21-year-old.

Head coach Steve Borthwick said: “We are really cognoscente of that and rightly so given the World Cup experience.

“There is a heightened awareness now of those external noises and external factors. We will give all the players all the support they need.

“Regarding Manny, three things: he trains really hard, he enjoys being with the players and in the remaining time he is studying for his medicine degree. He is pretty busy.

“My experience right now is that he has his head focused on where it needs to be.”

One door closes another opens

The Red Rose have several injuries to deal with as Marcus Smith, Ellis Genge, Ollie Lawerence and George Martin are all currently sidelined with different return dates.

Genge is the closest to returning after withdrawing before the Italy clash with a foot injury whilst the remaining trio will only return later in the Six Nations.

This opened the door for blindside flank Ethan Roots who spectacularly marked his debut at Test level with a man-of-the-match performance much to the delight of his coach.

“He didn’t look like he was playing his first game, did he? That’s what struck me from the first day he came into camp,” Borthwick said.

“We did a fitness session in the afternoon on the first training day. It was a special session to put the players through their paces. What struck us was how much he was talking to the other players around him.

“He was loud, he was encouraging others and demanding of others. That’s his personality in camp. That really impressed me and we saw that out there against Italy.

“I knew he was a good player, but as a character he’s grounded and experienced, with a real leader’s voice.”

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