IMMANUEL Feyi-Waboso was a pretty unknown factor before the Six Nations, but the 21-year-old winger’s rise from Cardiff Academy, Exeter University, Taunton Titans, to Exeter Chiefs, and then to represent England, all of it in just 18 months, is phenomenal.
Feyi-Waboso has probably had only 25 first-class games, including three Test appearances, but he’s quick and so incredibly explosive that he is creating headaches against even the best international defences. He’s like a coiled spring, and it makes him incredibly difficult to contain.
You can see that defenders very often think they’ve got him, but his dynamism and low centre of gravity means that he stays on his feet – or bounces back up instantly – to put an even bigger dent in the gain-line by making another 10 metres.
Feyi-Waboso is 5ft 11ins and 14st 11lbs (94kg), and so powerful at close quarters that he breaks the grip of tacklers – and his ability to change direction at speed, and do it so abruptly, adds up to a combination of factors which make him very difficult to pin down. It is why he either creates tries, or scores them, and has been inspirational for Exeter this season.
In Exeter’s European Cup round of 16 win over Bath at Sandy Park last weekend, Feyi-Waboso was more creator than finisher, opening the door for the second-half tries by Greg Fisilau and Ethan Roots that saw the Chiefs go through to face Toulouse in an away quarter-final in south-west France today.
He pinballed his way through the Bath defence for a 90 metre carrying total, breaking the line almost every time he got the ball in a man-of-the match performance.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 14, 2024 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 14, 2024 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Perenara tops try list as 'Canes march on
TJ PERENARA became the all-time top Super Rugby try scorer as his table topping Hurricanes demolished the Waratahs.
You lived on the edge with Scotland
WHENEVER I cross paths with Paul Ackford, he always shouts across the room, “he taught me everything I knew!” Both of us were called into the England squad on the back of the London division’s famous win over Australia in 1988 but he got into the Test team later that year, and I didn’t.
Appleyard unhappy with date clashes
STAFFORDSHIRE head coach Andy Appleyard believes the RFU are ‘stealing opportunities away from quality players’ due to the opening round of the County Championship being played on the same day as the Papa John’s final.
Delighted to see Titans stand tall
THERE are some teams you grow particularly attached to over the decades and I make no apologies in numbering Rotherham Titans among those.
At 61, Daran calls it a day
DARAN Poppy was one of the oldest players in the RFU pyramid this season, reaching double-digit appearances for Old Gravesendians at the tender age of 61 but has decided to call time on his rugby career.
Louis has sights set on Kansas gold rush
THE latest phase of his footballing reincarnation took Louis Rees-Zammit to a school run by an American superstar whose contract runs from seven figures into nine.
Nayalo steers Army to thrilling fightback
THE British Army’s men pulled off a thrilling comeback that will live long in the memory to keep their hopes of regaining the Inter Service Championship alive, and dash the Royal Navy’s dream of a first back-to-back title in 50 years.
Eadie has the last laugh for Hartpury
MITCH Eadie went from sinner to saint in a double try-scoring display as Hartpury won in style to keep their hopes alive of finishing the season in the tophalf of the Championship table.
Roebuck out to impress England
SALE’s Tom Roebuck is a man on a mission as he looks to use the final weeks of the Premiership season to give England’s selectors a push to select him for the summer Tests against Japan and New Zealand.
Masuku hits the target for Sharks
THE Sharks turned Twickenham ‘Stoep’ into a mini South Africa as a partisan crowd roared their side to a dramatic victory over three-time winners Clermont to reach their first European final courtesy of deadeye goal kicking by Siya Masuku.
