Immanuel Feyi-Waboso ticked off his latest milestone last weekend, as he achieved his first test match start and enjoyed the bright lights of Twickenham for the first time. The 21-year-old was a pivotal player in England’s 23-22 win over Ireland, in what was an unforgettable night of action in the 2024 Six Nations.
The Exeter Chiefs star made searching runs against Ireland, and asked plenty of questions of Andy Farrell’s defensive set-up. Feyi-Waboso enjoyed the jubilant scenes of a memorable win at ‘HQ’, and described the entire experience as ‘a fairy tale’. The wing looks set to live ‘happily ever after’ in the England squad should he continue this magical run of form, as Feyi-Waboso spoke after the match about living out his test match dream.
“Amazing. Nothing like it. It’s ecstasy. When the drop-goal went over, it was crazy. It didn’t feel real. Emotional as well, class.”
“The whole experience was crazy, the ups and downs, hearing ‘Swing Low’ in the stadium. I didn’t think you’d hear it because you’re in the zone but during breaks in play, it’s crazy when you hear that. I think I had goosebumps on the pitch when I heard that. It does get you up. It felt like we were in control of that game. Amazing.”
“Even now it’s a fairytale. My first start, a huge win against Ireland. Marcus coming back from injury, a huge drop-goal win. Danny Care on his 100th, a huge win. It’s a fairytale for a lot of us I think, but it’s class.”
Little over a year ago, Feyi-Waboso was plying his trade at Taunton in the National League 1. On loan to the Somerset side whilst making sporadic appearances for the Chiefs, Feyi-Waboso has since enjoyed a meteoric rise to the test match stratosphere. The third division pitch at Veritas Park feels a long way ago for the explosive wing, who recalled just how far he had come in such a short space of time.
“A long, long way from Taunton, yeah, fighting relegation.”
“It’s been crazy. When I first joined Chiefs last year they said ‘ok we’ll put you on loan, you’re in National 1 with Taunton’. I needed to find my way into that team, preseason with Chiefs, find my way into that team, found my way into Chiefs, and then you’re into the next step up quite quickly.
“18 (matches for Exeter Chiefs), I doesn’t feel like that, that actually feels like quite a lot! You need to try to make your way into the England squad; it’s tough but I like it. It’s good.”
“Feel like this whole process has been growing. We’ve always known we can do something special. From Girona, the first week we were in camp. You could feel something special was brewing.”
“We see us progressing well and this was a reflection of all the hard work we’ve done over the last couple of weeks. Hopefully we can carry it on into France.”
“Definitely faster, more physical (the step up to Test” rugby). I feel like mistakes definitely get punished, especially against a team like Ireland. They’re very good at that. But I think boys stuck together today. When we did make mistakes, we kind of got together and had a next-job mentality.
A medicine scholar at the University of Exeter, Feyi-Waboso had to endure an exam in the run-up to the Ireland test match, which saw him withdraw from the fallow week training camp in York. The high-flying wing is studying to become a doctor, and discussed how the recent exam was far less stressful than the crucial clash with Ireland.
“It’s an OSCE. I don’t know what it stands for (Objective Structured Clinical Examination). Practicals on actors with examiners in the room.”
“A lot less stressful, a lot less. It was a rollercoaster of emotions today (against Ireland).”
Feyi-Waboso made his England debut in the opening Six Nations win against Italy, as one of five newly capped players in Steve Borthwick’s squad. The Exeter man made his debut alongside club teammate Ethan Roots, as well as Chandler Cunningham-South, Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall.
Speaking on his coaches and teammates, Feyi-Waboso expressed how they stuck to a clear game plan for the win against the heavily favoured Ireland, and how the newfound teammates have built an impressive understanding off each other in a short space of time.
“When a great coach like that, Steve and all the other great coaches like Felix (Jones) and Wiggy, (Richard Wigglesworth) say they want the ball in your hands, that gives you confidence. It makes you want to get the ball in your hands and want to get in good positions. I feel like the half-backs also listen to those messages and want to put the ball in your hands.
“It’s unbelievable. Obviously you feel a little bit out of place. I’ve only played a couple of games, but they make you feel way more comfortable. It allows you to express yourself.”
“Elliot is always there, Tommy Freeman. Anyone talking there knows way more than I do, so I feel like I’m learning when I’m in camp. When anyone says anything it’s something I didn’t know before so it’s always learning, getting new information.
“Got on the ball a lot today. I tried to get my hands on the ball as much as possible. I feel like I could have got my hands on the ball a little bit more. I need to watch it back. No tries today, but hopefully in the future.”
“I feel like everyone counted us out (against Ireland), but that’s when we thrived. The results speak for themselves. I didn’t play that many minutes against the other teams, but they definitely played with a class savviness, tight-connected structure. It seemed like everyone is kind of on the same page when you play Ireland. They definitely punish your mistakes, they’re clinical. They’re a great team.”
The win over Ireland marked a memorable occasion for Danny Care, as the Harlequin made his 100th England cap. Care became only the sixth male player to achieve the accolade for England, and Feyi-Waboso discussed how he has been learning so much from the likes of Care, who made his senior debut for Leeds Tykes a year after Feyi-Waboso was born.
“I was born in 2002 (December). But then Chandler was born in 2003 (March)! It’s crazy, you learn a lot from those guys, as they’ve been around the block for ages. They know what they’re talking about, you’ve just got to say ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ to everything they’re saying and just do it. It ends up being ok.”