England will take special care with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso this week knowing the exciting Exeter wing is closing in on a first appearance against the country of his birth.
Feyi-Waboso made his Test debut as a late replacement in the 27-24 Guinness Six Nations victory over Italy, capturing his eligibility for England at the expense of Wales – Saturday’s round two visitors to Twickenham.
Born and raised in Cardiff but qualifying for the Red Rose through a grandmother, a tug of war for his allegiance was brewing only for the 21-year-old sensation to quickly opt for Steve Borthwick’s team.
Wales boss Warren Gatland said in response that the decision made by the Exeter University medical student and former Wales Under-18 international had not gone down well in some quarters across the border.
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England are acutely aware of the need to protect their players in the wake of fly-half Owen Farrell and flanker Tom Curry facing intense online criticism during the World Cup and it’s build-up.
Head coach 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.”
Veteran fly-half George Ford, who directed Saturday’s victory in Rome, is backing Feyi-Waboso to take the coming week in his stride.
“Manny’s a pretty quiet lad but it looks like not many things affect him. He gets on with it and gets on with his work as good as anyone I’ve seen,” Ford said.
“He’s an exciting player – so physical and fast. He’s a game-breaker, so hopefully we can get the ball in his hands a bit more.”
England are assessing injuries to Marcus Smith, Ellis Genge, Ollie Lawrence and George Martin.
Smith has a calf problem and the results of another scan will dictate whether he is able to participate in the latter stages of the Six Nations.
Genge pulled out on the morning of the Italy clash because of a foot issue and England are optimistic he will be available against Wales, but Lawrence and Martin will not feature because of respective hip and knee complaints.
Feyi-Waboso was one of five England debutants against Italy, another was his Exeter team-mate Ethan Roots, who delivered a man-of-the-match display at blindside flanker.
“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.”
Borthwick taking positives from 'frustrating' Autumn Series
England ensured they ended 2024 on a high note as they claimed a 59-14 victory over Japan, and coach Steve Borthwick is taking the positives from a difficult Autumn Nations Series.
Borthwick's team lost three matches on the spin, going down to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, earlier this month.
However, they at least rallied to wrap up their year with an emphatic victory on Sunday, ending a five-match losing streak.
Captain Jamie George crossed twice in the first half, with Ben Earl, Sam Underhill and Ollie Sleightholme also going over before the interval, while Marcus Smith was on form with the boot.
Japan, coached by former England boss Eddie Jones, did score through a fantastic try from Naoto Saito, but England kept their foot on the pedal after half-time.
George Furbank rounded off a slick move after latching onto Tommy Freeman's exceptional pass, while Luke Cowan-Dickie went over twice, either side of Tom Roebuck's maiden international try, with Kazuki Himeno grabbing another consolation for the visitors.
While Borthwick knows England have plenty to improve on, he feels they are not too short of where they wish to be.
He said: "Reflecting on it, the obvious overriding feeling will be one of frustration to have come so close to getting results but not actually be able to convert them, I think that will be one aspect.
"The other aspect would be real positivity around some of the aspects we've seen the team play.
"I want them to be brave with the ball, I want them to play fast. I think we've seen growth in that area over the last four weeks."
Reflecting on Sunday's display, he added: "I'm really pleased with the way the players approached the game and the way they kept their discipline to play the way we want to play.
"You can see the identity they're trying to build as a team, one that moves the ball and can score in different ways.
"Some of the tries were exceptional. Over the past four weeks, we've scored some really outstanding tries. With the skill level that's in the group, I'm really pleased they took it onto the grass."
Townsend sure Scotland have more to show after superb win over Australia
Gregor Townsend insists Scotland can still play better despite ending their 2024 calendar on the high of an impressive 27-13 win over Australia at Murrayfield.
Finn Russell surpassed 400 Test points after scoring one of four Scotland tries and kicking seven points in a game where Scotland led by 21 points at one stage.
Head coach Townsend was delighted to send supporters home happy but was not happy with all aspects of his side's performance on Sunday.
"If you catch me in 10 minutes I'll be in a better mood. There was more in us. We weren't as accurate in the first half," he told BBC Sport.
"It shows we can get a win when we're not playing as well. There were moments in the game that I loved. We saw what it meant to our supporters to get a win against a quality team.
"We're better than some of the aspects today, but I'm proud that the players found a way to win.
"I'm inwardly happy, but if there was a game next week it would be a tough review and there would be a lot of things to improve."
Captain Sione Tuipulotu crossed in the first half for Scotland, who led 7-3 at the break after Noah Lolesio's had put Australia in front.
The hosts took command after the break with Duhan van der Merwe, Josh Bayliss and Russell going over in the second half.
Wing wizard Harry Potter scored on his Australia debut to add some credit to the scoreline for the visitors and Scotland showed great defensive resolve after that to ensure no more points were conceded.
Skipper Tuipulotu collected the Hopetoun Cup in front of his grandmother and said: "It was an amazing moment. When she handed over the cup she said 'you got 'em!'
"I'm super happy and it makes the day all worthwhile, when we win like that. We won playing our rugby, we scored some brilliant tries. We know how dangerous our back three is but it was a group effort today and that's what I'm most pleased about."
Robertson makes overseas players plea after New Zealand labour versus Italy
New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson has said he wants to see overseas-based players become eligible for the All Blacks after his side laboured to a 29-11 win over Italy.
The visitors recorded their 18th straight win against Italy to wrap up their autumn series, but Robertson's side were made to work for the victory in Turin in flanker Sam Cane's final Test for the team, ahead of his switch to play club rugby in Japan.
Speaking after the game, Robertson said he would ask New Zealand Rugby to follow in the footsteps of world champions South Africa and allow those playing outside domestic competitions to be eligible for the national team.
"We don't want to be a cycle behind or a couple of years behind," Robertson said.
"Professional rugby is always evolving. Let's keep an open mind and see what's next. I'll definitely be presenting.
"Using South Africa as an example, they get the opportunity to use a lot of experienced players who are looked after and managed well into their 30s so they've got a great balance.
"And they've got big squads, they can have two really quality 15s."
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