Steve Borthwick’s key advice for England’s newest star who is ‘good at everything’
Split England head coach Steve Borthwhick and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
England head coach Steve Borthwick encouraged young wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to get stuck in on his full debut against Ireland and get his hands on the ball.
The Exeter Chiefs wing was rewarded for his outstanding form in the Premiership with interest from both England and Wales camps ahead of the Six Nations.
Despite being born in Cardiff and representing Wales at youth levels, Feyi-Waboso opted to represent England with his medical degree at Exeter University one of the key factors.
Get involved
He has settled in well on the Test scene with a couple of appearances off the bench including a try against Scotland. The 21-year-old certainly has the ingredients to be a world-class wing and Borthwick wants him involved in the action at Twickenham.
“When I watch Manny, I see his ability to come off the wing and pop up off scrum-half – as he did against Scotland – and pop up inside and outside fly-half,” Borthwick said.
“I have seen him several times pop up in the middle and do a pick and go at the ruck because he wants the ball in his hands. That is the encouragement I have for him – get that ball in his hands.
“After I told him he was starting, he was very grateful and thanked me numerous times then asked me ‘what do you want from me?’.
“I said ‘find the ball and get it in your hands’. There are some nuances, but the message was ‘I want you to get the ball in your hands as many times as possible’.”
Good at everything
Feyi-Waboso missed last week’s training camp to attend an exam for his medical degree and Borthwick is happy to have him back.
“Basically we think he’s one of those people who is good at everything. We’re yet to find something he’s not good at, but we’ll keep trying,” Borthwick said.
“We certainly asked him how his exam went, he said he felt it went OK, which I took as he’d aced it. But we’ll find out in due course when he tells us his results.
“I sense he’s a guy who takes things in his stride. He’s a really calm and composed character. And given everything he’s doing in his life, and what he’s gone through so far, it’s a real strength.
“Each challenge that has been thrown towards him, he’s risen to that level and I expect he’ll do the same again on Saturday.”
