Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, a winger for Exeter, decided to play for England, which surprised several Welsh coaches, according to Warren Gatland.
Although Feyi-Waboso, 21, is an English Premiership player, he was born and raised in Cardiff.
He informed Wales that he did not want to be included in the 2024 Six Nations and has now chosen to play for England.
“He’s definitely got some talent, there’s no doubt about it, he’s as green as anything,” Gatland stated.
The Cardiff-born winger qualified for England by familial background, but he represented Wales at the age-grade level.
Feyi-Waboso joined Wasps from Cardiff in 2022, however after Wasps’ collapse, he transferred to Exeter.
He is one of the Premier League’s most dangerous wingers due to his power, pace, and footwork. This season, he has scored five tries in the league; his most recent came against Northampton in a fantastic acrobatic finish.Coaches See The Key Man Selection As Not Too Disappointing Following The Departure Announcement
In addition to playing a major role in the reconstruction of Exeter’s young team, he attends Exeter University to pursue a medical degree.
“He’s obviously had an approach from England, and he’s decided to take that path,” Gatland said.
“Having said that, several Welsh coaches weren’t all that complimentary of him when they learned he had made that decision, even if he was raised in Cardiff.
“If he doesn’t want to play for Wales, you can understand what the Welsh are like about that, so they weren’t too disappointed about him making that decision.”
Although Gatland did not speak with Feyi-Waboso directly, he did disclose that Feyi-Waboso had informed Mike Forshaw, the defensive coach for Wales, that he “wanted to go down the English route”.
After speaking with the player many times, England’s head coach Steve Borthwick included him in the Six Nations training group on Wednesday.
“I just hope that if they do select him that they stick with him, they’ve got a lot of depth in terms of that back three position,” Gatland added.
“We witnessed that Ollie Hassell-Collins, who was nominated for the Six Nations last year, was dropped like water out of a bath after only one game.
“If he goes down that road you’d like to think that they would stick with him.”
Currently, Captain Jenkins Exeter has a player who was born in Wales but chose to play for England, a five-time capped center named Joe Hawkins who is no longer eligible for Wales due to his less than twenty-five cap total, and the new Wales captain.
Dafydd Jenkins, Feyi-Waboso’s Exeter teammate, has been selected Wales’ tournament captain in place of injured World Cup co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake.
Lock Jenkins is now on course to become the second-youngest male player to captain Wales in a game, behind the 20-year-old Sir Gareth Edwards in 1968.
If Jenkins is able to remove Adam Beard and Will Rowlands, the first-choice lock duo for the World Cup.
“There’s a lot of competition in that second row but I definitely see him (Jenkins) as one for the future,” Gatland added.
“I anticipate that in the next three to four years, he will undoubtedly be a starter by the time of the next World Cup, and he is currently under a lot of pressure.”
“We’re trying to develop a lot of the youngsters at the moment in this group over the next three or four years.”
