Exeter wing and Gladiators star Jodie Ounsley has targeted a place in the England 15s squad after hanging up her super-hero outfit and changing back into a rugby kit.

The 23-year-old from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, is already an England Sevens international and has set the bar high following her exploits as Fury on the revamped BBC show.

Ounsley, who became the first deaf woman to play for a senior England rugby side in 2019, told the PA news agency ahead of International Women’s Day: “I was straight back into rugby the week after filming finished last summer, but because of my injury I’ve been out.

“Quite a lot of people thought I’d given up rugby, which is not the case at all. I’m full-time rugby and part-time Gladiator.

“I’d love to do another Gladiators series, but right now it’s all rugby for me. I’ve still got a long way to go, but I’d love to be involved with the Red Roses 15s.

“I’m focused on getting back fit, hopefully getting some game-time in the Premiership with Exeter and then who knows?”

The multi-talented Ounsley is a former British jiu-jitsu champion, five-time world junior coal-carrying champion and represented Great Britain at the 2017 Deaf Olympics in the 100m and 200m sprints, aged just 16.

But after scoring a length-of-the-field try with her very first touch in her first rugby match for local club Sandal, she was hooked on the 15-a-side game and never looked back.

Ounsley was included in the England Sevens squad while at first professional club Loughborough Lightning and was snapped up by Sale Sharks in 2020 before joining her third top-flight club, Exeter Chiefs, in 2022.

“There’s so much competition in the Red Roses, especially the back three, so I’m not putting any expectation on it,” she said.

“I’m just going to work hard and let’s see what happens. First of all I just want to get back on the pitch and see where I can go with it.”

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Ounsley has long been blazing a trail for the deaf community and, since starring in Gladiators, her popularity has transcended to a wider audience.

She is grateful to her growing fan-base for helping her inspire the next generation of deaf athletes and change the perception of women’s rugby in general.

Ounsley, whose TikTok followers alone number over 176,000, said: “I just love showing young kids you can be a bad-ass rugby player, a bit savage, but also be a nice person and still be feminine. I like to show people that.

“I always wanted to be successful in sport, whatever that might be. But I never in a million years expected it to turn out how it did and have such a platform.

“In terms of the rugby community and kids now getting into rugby, girls playing it and having that ‘Fury mentality’ of smashing people and stuff… I love it!”

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Ounsley is completely deaf in both ears and wears a scrum-cap while playing rugby to protect her cochlear implant.

She is a “super-proud” honorary president of UK Deaf Sport and a patron of the Elizabeth Foundation, a charity which helps young deaf children learn to listen and talk.

“Being on Gladiators has meant so much to me, not because it’s on TV, but because we can be good role models to kids,” she said.

“We look a bit like super-heroes, so they’re perhaps more susceptible to us setting a good example, but the response has blown me away.”

As tough-tackling Exeter wing or as Fury the Gladiator, Ounsley is playing her part in the drive to raise the profile of women’s sport.

“The gap is massive, obviously, and I know there’s a long way to go,” she added.

“We’re sort of indebted to the Lionesses. They’ve taken it to another level. Women’s football is showing the support is there and women’s rugby has stepped it up over the last few years.

“Women’s sport is certainly becoming a lot more popular. More people are appreciating that there are some super-talented female athletes out there.”

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson insisted it is all about results after Posh kept themselves in the League One promotion battle with a 2-1 win over Exeter.

Kwame Poku struck the winner midway through the second half as Ferguson’s tactical tweak worked to perfection.

The attacking talent bagged his 10th goal of the campaign after being shifted into a central position from his usual wide berth.

Posh had hit the front in just the fourth minute through leading scorer Ephron Mason-Clark, but Exeter levelled nine minutes before the break with a long-awaited Tom Carroll strike.

The midfielder ended a near seven-year drought with a 20-yard half-volley which took a huge deflection and looped agonisingly over keeper Jed Steer.

But Poku ensured Posh pocketed the points and that’s all Ferguson cared about.

He said: “The most important thing today – as it will be going forward – is not the performance. It’s all about getting results.

“Credit to my players because I said to them at half-time that they had to find a way of winning the game of football and they did it.

“Kwame going central made a big difference. They couldn’t live with him in there.

“We knew there was space to exploit. He gets away from opponents so quickly and fortunately he got us a winner.

“The early goal gave us a great start, but sometimes that can be a hindrance.

“The whole atmosphere went a bit flat after that. I don’t know whether everyone just thought we were going to go and beat them by three or four, but they are a tricky team to play against.

“Getting back-to-back wins was really key. We know this is a pivotal week for us.”

Exeter chief Gary Caldwell admitted: “The result is a big disappointment, but I have massive pride in our performance and the way we went about it.

“We gave a bad first goal away the first time Peterborough had really got into our half, but the players got back into the game.

“I felt we were the better team in the first half. Our press was outstanding and we were really aggressive without the ball.

“The second half was a case of two teams going out to win the game, but we had a 10-minute spell where we gave the ball cheaply after winning it.

“We were just kicking the ball away and inviting more pressure rather than trying to pass out of trouble and Peterborough scored in that period.

“Peterborough are the best team in the league for me in terms of quality and the way they play, but for large parts we matched that and kept going right to the very end.”

Kwame Poku kept Peterborough in the promotion picture with a second-half winner in a 2-1 triumph against Exeter.

Poku struck the decisive blow with a fine 68th-minute finish from just inside the box for his 10th goal of the campaign.

The winner saw boss Darren Ferguson’s tactical tweaks pay dividends after Poku had been shifted into a central position earlier in the second half.

Posh had previously hit the front in just the fourth minute when Ephron Mason-Clark pounced for his 17th goal of the season after Malik Mothersille’s strike was parried by Viljami Sinisalo.

But League One’s lowest scorers City clawed their way level nine minutes before the break when Tom Carroll struck for the first time in almost seven years.

The midfield man – whose last goal came for Swansea in an April 2017 Premier League clash against Stoke – was a fortunate scorer with a 20-yard half-volley which took a huge deflection off Jadel Katongo and looped agonisingly over keeper Jed Steer.

Vincent Harper then squandered an excellent chance to put Exeter ahead early in the second period before Posh took control and Poku earned the points – but not before ex-Posh man Mo Eisa and debutant Millenic Alli went close for City in nine minutes of stoppage time..

Nathan Aspinall earned his first Premier League darts victory of the season after beating Rob Cross 6-2 on night five in Exeter.

The Asp reached back-to-back finals with wins against Peter Wright and Luke Humphries before beating Voltage to move into fourth in the table.

His victory ended Michael van Gerwen’s run of three successive Premier League darts victories, with Humphries knocking the Dutchman out in their quarter-final clash.

Aspinall was beaten 6-4 in last week’s final in Newcastle and admits he has had a slow start to this year’s campaign.

He told Sky Sports: “It was a slow start to the season, last week was massive for myself and I made the decision tonight to forget about double 16 because I’ve missed it so many times and I went for tops.

“I’m very happy, the last two weeks I’ve really dug deep. Everyone knows I’m a fighter and I’ve been down the first three weeks, but a final and then a win the last two weeks, I’m over the moon.”

Aspinall took the early advantage in the final, winning the first three legs and after a series of missed attempts on the outer ring, he eventually hit double four to take the fourth leg.

Cross struggled on the doubles and missed a double eight, allowing Aspinall to snatch the fifth leg with a 160 checkout.

Voltage pulled two legs back to give his opponent a scare, but missed double 10 in the eighth leg before the Asp swooped in, hitting double 20 to secure the win.

“I like proving people wrong, that was my plan, didn’t start off like that. I’ve been down in the dumps but I think I’ve shown my fighting spirit the last two weeks,” Aspinall added.

“Granted, I’ve not performed at the level that I know I’m capable of but by God do I dig and I’ve dug deep tonight, last week was the same. That win against Michael Smith last week first game, scrappy game but that’s kickstarted my season.”

It was a disappointing evening for Cross, who stormed into the semi-finals with a dominant 6-1 victory over Gerwyn Price, throwing a 109.69 average during that game.

Voltage then met Luke Littler in the final four following Littler’s victory over Michael Smith in the quarter-finals.

He took a 2-0 lead before Littler found momentum and the game was tied at 3-3, but after missing six match darts Cross eventually reached the final hitting double two.

Lincoln manager Michael Skubala wants his side to be more ruthless after the 1-0 sky Bet League One victory over Exeter at LNER Stadium.

Joe Taylor clipped in the winner with his first goal for the club since joining on loan from Luton. He calmly dinked the ball over Viljami Sinisalo midway through the second half.

In a game short of real clear-cut opportunities, Ben House was denied by a solid double save from the visiting goalkeeper Sinisalo.

“We needed to be a bit more clinical in front of goal in the first half,” Skubala said.

“I though tactically, Exeter caused some real troubles today. We knew they’d keep the ball well. We made some adjustments at half time to try and break through them a little bit more. The match plan the lads stuck to was fantastic and in the end our quality showed.

“We’re pleased again to get another win at home, but the players have done really well. Not only have we got competition for places at the moment, but the players also who are coming in are impacting the game as well.

“Joe Taylor loves scoring goals. He’s been snatching at chances the last couple of games. When he went through, I was just hoping and praying he’d score. I know now he’s started scoring, he’s going to get more and more at this level. That’s hopefully going to settle him down a bit.

“If we can’t win, we need to be hard to beat. If we’re hard to beat, we’ll go on and win more games. We were both today.”

Jack Aitchison hit the bar for Exeter with the Grecians only clear-cut opportunity.

Dion Rankine burst down the wing and picked out Aitchison inside the Lincoln area. The Scot’s side-footed effort was tipped onto the bar by the ever-alert Lukas Jensen.

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell was disappointed with his side’s performance.

“We got what we deserved today, and we need to be better than that.” Caldwell said.

“The result is what it is, we never got going at any point. We still created the best chance of the game at 0-0. We need to recognise when we come to stadiums like this we need to pass forward quicker. We have to be willing to fight more. Lincoln outbattled us today so we must take that on the chin.

“A good run can very quickly become a bad run, so we have to recognise standards in training have to go up. Too often we didn’t defend simple balls. We have to defend the ball better than we did. We risked the game in areas we shouldn’t have.

“There are so many mistakes we have to address.”

Joe Taylor clipped in the winner as Lincoln saw off Exeter 1-0 at the LNER Stadium.

Luton-loanee Taylor netted his first for the club, calmly finishing the ball over Viljami Sinisalo midway through the second half.

Jack Aitchison hit the bar for Exeter with the Grecians only clear-cut opportunity.

The first chance fell to the home side when Dylan Duffy pulled a free-kick just wide of the target. Duffy would soon slice a volley wide as the Imps took control.

The visitors scrambled the first chance of the second period as Yanic Wildschut tested Lukas Jensen at his near post.

Dion Rankine burst down the wing and picked out Aitchison inside the Lincoln area. The Scot’s side-footed effort was tipped onto the bar by the ever-alert Jensen.

The hosts carved a near-identical chance of their own when Ben House unmarked on the penalty spot was denied twice by Sinisalo, as the game came to life.

Substitute Ted Bishop soon slipped in Taylor to find the winner in some style.

Carole’s Pass was the pride of the Murphy family on Sunday after her Exeter success reached as far as the safari reserves of South Africa.

The mare is trained by Amy Murphy and was bred by her father Paul and started out over fences this season having won twice over hurdles and a bumper.

She made her chasing debut in a Listed Exeter event and finished third over two miles, after which she stepped up to two and a half miles and was third again in the Yorkshire Silver Vase.

In the Lady Protectress at Huntingdon she was then unlucky to part company with Jack Quinlan as another horse fell in front of them, but there were no such hard luck stories at the weekend as she jumped without a glitch in another Listed event.

An 11-1 chance in a field of good mares, Carole’s Pass seemed to relish the step up to three miles and strode to an unchallenged seven-and-a-half-length success to secure black type font on her pedigree – a boon to her dedicated breeder who was watching on from another continent.

“We had her dam (Carole’s Spirit) and her grand dam (Carole’s Crusader), two generations of homebreds that dad has bred, which is really nice,” Murphy explained.

“He’s actually away on safari in South Africa and he somehow managed to watch it live, I even had a quick debrief with him.

“I rang him to give him the result and somehow he’d managed to get enough WiFi to watch it live and he already knew!”

Cheltenham is unlikely to feature in Carole’s Pass’ plans but the spring festivals in Ireland and Aintree could be a possibility for the bay.

“I’m delighted to get her a Listed win, she’s from a cracking family of chasers and this was always going to be her forte,” Murphy said.

“It’s easy to forget that she’s only a novice so for me it was a great performance.

“She’s been in top gear over two (miles) and two and a half, so Sunday she travelled round very sweetly and that probably is her trip.

“You wouldn’t have picked her out as the novice in the field, she put in a foot perfect round of jumping in that ground and we were really pleased.

“She’s only young so I don’t think she’s for Cheltenham this year but we will try and find her something in Ireland or Aintree.”

Gary Caldwell could not hide his delight at marking his first return to Wigan as an opposition manager with all three points after Exeter ran out 2-1 winners in Sky Bet League One.

Latics had recorded two victories at Exeter in the first half of the campaign – following up a 2-0 win in the league with an FA Cup first-round victory by the same score.

As a result, restoring the balance at the DW Stadium was just what the doctor ordered for Caldwell, who was also locking horns against his old Wigan, Celtic and Scotland colleague Shaun Maloney.

Deflected goals from Mo Eisa and Jack Aitchison had Exeter two goals up heading into the final quarter, with Charlie Kelman’s first Wigan goal 19 minutes from time proving to be only a consolation.

“I actually thought that was the best that Wigan played in all three matches,” said Caldwell.

“They gave us so many problems in possession, I thought they were excellent, the way they kept rotating their shape and asking questions.

“First half out of possession we were outstanding, the way we set-up, the understanding of how we could restrict them trying to play through us.

“Second half they put even more men forward and asked even more questions, and put us under a lot of pressure.

“We had to really defend our box to see it through, but football is a really funny game.

“I thought we played much better in the first two games and came away with nothing.

“Although we were excellent out of possession today, in possession I know we can play a lot better, but it was a good one to win.”

When asked whether the result meant slightly more given the circumstances, Caldwell replied: “I don’t think so, other than obviously where both sides are in the league.

“I do feel for Wigan because of the points deduction, they shouldn’t be where they are in the table.

“That’s unfortunate and I think they have dealt with that extremely well this season.

“But in terms of our league position, and the run we’ve been on, I think it was important we didn’t lose today.

“You could see with the attitude of the players and the way they worked out of possession, there was a real spirit and a determination not to get beat – and fortunately we got the win.”

For opposite number Maloney, it was a tough result to take on the back of last weekend’s victory at high-flying Peterborough.

“I imagine I’m feeling very similar to how Exeter would have been feeling on definitely one of the occasions we won down there,” he said.

“It was a really tough result to take because the second half in particular was everything I want to see from my team moving forward.

“We needed more intensity in that second half, I thought we lacked intensity without the ball in that first half.

“We started the game well, Thelo (Aasgaard) had a couple of good chances and Martial (Godo) another with his header.

“But 1-0 down, I didn’t like the feeling in the group and I needed to see more intensity.

“I was really happy with the players who came on, although I must say the players they replaced have all been really good for me as well.

“It just felt like I needed to make a momentum change, which happened in the second half, but unfortunately we lost a second goal on the break.

“In the end, it was just too big a challenge for us to pull it back at the end.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell hailed his side’s comeback as they stunned promotion-chasing Peterborough 2-1 at St James Park.

After Harrison Burrows converted a first-half penalty, Posh missed several chances to increase their lead before they had Michael Olakigbe sent off after picking up a second yellow card.

That galvanised Exeter, with Reece Cole’s free-kick ending up in the back of the net off some combination of goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic and Dion Rankine before Jadel Katongo headed a superb Cole cross into his own net to complete a remarkable comeback for the Grecians.

“They are a very good team and asked a lot of questions of us in the first half,” Caldwell said. “I thought defensively we were good and restricted them to little, we had a problem down our right-hand side where we were a bit loose and that led to the goal.

“We didn’t have a lot of shots to defend, we were patient in how we pressed and asked them to build up with lots of passes, which kept them in front of us, so I was happy with that, but I thought we could have been braver in possession and quicker with our passing.

“Too many times we passed back and put each other under pressure, but I think it is a fantastic win and the first time we have won ugly.

“The sending-off had a big impact in the game but in the second half I thought we were a yard quicker, we had more impetus in that second half and that led to the red card, so all credit to the players for changing that mentality at half-time and coming out and making the game different in the second half.”

Posh boss Darren Ferguson was left to rue his side’s profligacy as he said: “The game changed when we didn’t kill them off, we had so many opportunities to kill them off at the start of the second half – and the end of the first half – and even with 10 men, we had the better chances with our pace on the counter attack.

“The sending-off is naive and the young boy is distraught in there because he feels like he’s let his team down – which he hasn’t, we win and lose together. It’s a silly challenge, a naive challenge and I thought it was a soft sending-off but it’s irrelevant, he’s given it.

“I thought we were comfortable with 10 men and it took a free-kick – a good free-kick – to get them back into the game, but they weren’t hurting us. Our shape was good, we looked the more threatening team with the better chances.

“I am repeating myself because in so many games this season we are missing chance after chance and it is catching up with us now.”

Exeter staged a rousing comeback to beat the 10 men of promotion-chasing Peterborough 2-1 and ease their League One relegation fears in the process.

Posh went in front on 32 minutes when Will Aimson’s clumsy tackle on Ephron Mason-Clark gifted Posh a penalty, which Harrison Burrows stroked home.

Jack Aitchison then missed a glorious chance to equalise when Josh Knight’s pass went straight to him, but he inexplicably shot straight at the floored Peterborough goalkeeper from 10 yards.

In the second half, Exeter’s Vili Sinisalo made a brilliant stop to deny Michael Olakigbe in a one-on-one, then another to keep out Ricky-Jade Jones before Posh were reduced to 10 men when Olakigbe picked up a second yellow card for a foul on Vinnie Harper on 56 minutes.

Exeter upped the tempo with Harper striking the post from 25 yards before Reece Cole’s superb free-kick on 75 minutes brought about the opener – his shot also struck the post and looked to have crossed the line off unfortunate keeper Nicholas Bilokapic, with Dion Rankine on hand to make sure.

Five minutes later, it was 2-1 as Cole’s superb cross from the right was headed into his own net by Jadel Katongo.

Posh rarely threatened thereafter with the defeat denting their promotion hopes, but Exeter are up to 14th with the win.

Exeter boss Gary Caldwell claimed Bristol Rovers fans inadvertently boosted his side by booing their own team during the Grecians’ 1-0 victory at Memorial Stadium that eased the Devon club’s relegation worries.

Teenage striker Sonny Cox’s close-range finish in the 12th minute after Brentford loanee Matt Cox spilled Jack Aitchison’s 20-yard shot put Exeter on course for a first away win since early September.

After the visitors dominated the opening period, Bristol Rovers were booed off at half-time and afterwards Caldwell insisted their jeers only helped the visitors’ cause in the West Country derby.

The former Celtic defender said: “For us a big thing tonight was to control the crowd and our game-management, especially in the first half, was fantastic.

“Those boos that greeted the half-time whistle were great to hear from our point of view because it’s exactly what we wanted to happen.

“It gave us energy and the players deserve immense credit for making the fans resort to booing by controlling the play and dictating the tempo.”

Caldwell added: “I couldn’t be prouder of every single member of my team because we showed two sides to our game.

“In the first half we were absolutely incredible and could have been four-nil up.

“We played on the front foot and they didn’t have an answer to us and we restricted them to nothing.

“Everything was perfect apart from the fact the game should have been finished and so we knew we’d have to resist an onslaught.

“We knew what was coming but showed incredible character and immense resilience and there was a real team spirit that you need to win away from home.

“We came to a difficult place and stood up to everything they threw at us, even when the wind was against us.”

Rovers’ former Exeter manager Matt Taylor refused to criticise his players following a third home defeat in the space of a week.

“I can’t be too hard on the players because we showed good character in the second half but just showed poor execution,” Taylor said.

“We went and got on the ball better then we did before the break but we just lacked that end product in the opposition box.

“Things seem to be just going against us at the moment and there were a lot of nearly moments.

“But their keeper has come off having barely had a save to make, even though we had 15 or 16 shots in the second half.”

Taylor said he expected veteran striker Chris Martin, who missed the game through illness, to sign a new contract to keep him at the club, with his current deal expiring this week.

“As far as I’m concerned it’s been agreed and will be signed going into the game at the weekend,” Taylor said.

“There are going to be questions as to why it’s not been done as yet but there’s nothing untoward and while there will be rumours on social media, he’s got a virus and I don’t think that derails the contract.”

Teenage striker Sonny Cox eased Exeter’s relegation worries as his early goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win at Bristol Rovers.

The 19-year-old proved to be the hero when he nipped in to score from close range in the 12th minute after Brentford loanee Matt Cox had fumbled Jack Aitchison’s 20-yard shot.

It ultimately secured Exeter’s first victory on their travels since early September and lifted the pressure on manager Gary Caldwell.

The Grecians looked anything but a side struggling to stay out of the relegation zone and midfielder Reece Cole almost doubled their lead on the half-hour but his low shot struck the outside of Cox’s far post.

It was a night to forget for Rovers’ former Exeter manager Matt Taylor, whose attack lacked punch. John Marquis was denied an equaliser by an offside flag late on before the Gas were booed off following the final whistle.

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell felt his players were “too safe” as they drew yet another blank in a goalless draw with Cambridge at St James Park.

The Grecians have failed to score in 15 of their 27 League One games and their need for a striker was never more evident than against a U’s side that were there for the taking.

“I thought we played well for large periods and dominated the game with possession, first half in particular, without really creating a great deal,” Caldwell said.

“I thought we were too safe and didn’t risk enough in their half and their final third.

“Second half, after a few tweaks on how we play, I thought we were much more aggressive, we created more chances and I thought we were the only team looking to win the game.

“They were happy to sit in and play on the counter-attack and look to score off a set-piece, which I thought the players were brilliant at stopping that and being really focused.

“It was something we spoke about before and I thought we defended them really well, but all in all, I thought the players were excellent apart from in that last bit of putting the ball in the back of the net.

“We have to be more creative in those moments. I still think we are a little tentative and in one-v-one situations, we didn’t have the aggression that we can have normally, but it is the hardest part of football and where you need your players to have real belief.

“But it wasn’t for a want of trying, I thought the players gave everything.”

Cambridge boss Neil Harris was pleased with the draw and a clean sheet.

He said: “I am happy with a point but firstly, a big thank you to those crazy (Cambridge) fans that have come all that way to watch a game of football. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we were effective.

“I asked them before the game to show me spirit, resilience and desire to get a clean sheet and some moments of quality as well. We had one good moment of quality and the one moment of quality that Exeter created, Jack Stevens made a great save.

“It was a vital point, a pleasing point and I am pleased for my players, pleased for the staff, but really pleased for the fans that have come all this way in this weather to come and watch a game of football.

“There was a lack of quality and the pitch wasn’t easy for the players of both teams and that added to the ugly nature of the game. But if we have to be ugly at times to gain results, then so be it.”

Grade One winner My Drogo is set to revert to hurdles, with a run over the smaller obstacles at Exeter pencilled in for next month.

Dan Skelton’s charge has already tasted plenty of success over timber and was unbeaten during his novice hurdling campaign, which ended when securing top honours at Aintree in 2021.

It was thought he would prove even better once tackling fences, but a long injury absence which began early in his novice chasing season meant life over the larger obstacles never really took off.

He returned from 687 days off the track in Aintree’s Old Roan Chase in the autumn but, having finished down the field, connections have bided their time before now deciding to switch back to hurdles, where he will try three miles for the first time in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle on February 11.

“He’s actually really well,” explained Skelton.

“He wasn’t quite right through November, nothing legs or tendon related, he just wasn’t really firing. We were just bearing with him and he’s now come back to something much more like what we have seen before.

“He will go to Exeter on February 11 for a three-mile handicap hurdle. We’re going to go back over hurdles with him and that’s when we will hopefully see him. We’re just going to get him back out and see how we go.”

Exeter boss Rob Baxter has backed “calm character” Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to make the most of his opportunity with England.

The 21-year-old Exeter wing was born in Cardiff and spoke with Wales defence coach Mike Forshaw ahead of this season’s Guinness Six Nations Championship.

But Feyi-Waboso also qualified for England, and he has taken that route, being named among seven uncapped players in Steve Borthwick’s squad for the tournament.

The Exeter University medical student has excelled in Chiefs colours this season, scoring some memorable tries and consistently proving a handful for opposition defences.

Feyi-Waboso will potentially be up against the likes of Elliot Daly and Tommy Freeman for a starting place against England’s opening Six Nations opponents Italy on February 3.

And Baxter believes he will thrive in the England environment, having impressed him at every turn this term.

“He has maintained decent form on the field, hence his call-up, and he is a calm character on the whole. I would like to think he will take it in his stride,” Baxter said.

“At the same time, you get relatively short time in the England camps to prove a point, so he is going to have to step in there and get on with things and drive his own opportunity.

“I think he is just the kind of guy who might well do that. I don’t have any fears for him.

“I think he is a guy with a very bright future in the game, and this is just one of those steps for him.

“One of his dreams is playing international rugby, winning trophies and playing Premiership rugby, but another big part of his dream is qualifying to be a doctor. It is not just always about rugby.

“He is settled at Exeter University and is happy the way the course is going, and with us. Once he goes to play for Wales, that is it, there is no get-out for him.

“If he wants to keep playing internationally, he has to go back to Wales, there is no leeway there for him.

“These are things people have to take into account when they wonder what he is doing. He has got big decisions to make, and it is not all one country over another.

“He has got himself up and running in his medical career. From what I can gather, England were in contact with him earlier than Wales, so there are a few factors.”

Feyi-Waboso will report for England duty next week alongside his Exeter colleagues Ethan Roots and Henry Slade, with Slade being recalled after missing out on the World Cup in France.

Baxter added: “The biggest thing I will say before they leave us after this weekend will be to make sure they are confident being themselves, and the qualities they have shown are the reason they got selected.

“If someone wants to pick you because of the way you play in club rugby, those are the attributes you have to show when you play.

“I always look at 100-cap international players, and nine times out of 10 when you watch them play they play pretty much the same when they play in a club game.

“They have that confidence in the way they play at club level, and if they do that well it transposes well into the international game.

“Henry getting back into the England set-up is a celebration for him, but it is a celebration for the team as well, and I really hope the team feel like that.

“He has almost, not reinvented himself, because he hasn’t had to because he is a very, very good player, but he has certainly reinvigorated himself.

“He is certainly playing with a pace, energy, enthusiasm and drive that is very evident.”