Category: England Rugby

Flying wing is juggling Exeter’s playoff push with medical exams after a remarkably swift rise to Steve Borthwick’s England side

The future for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, the meteoric new star of English rugby, could be as glittering next month as it is filled with gravitas in the years ahead. England’s summer tour of Japan and New Zealand will surely include the 21-year-old Exeter Chiefs wing, who won his first four caps during the Six Nations. His opening three appearances came from the bench, and featured a try against Scotland, but his starting debut, as England ruined Ireland’s grand slam ambitions, provided the most substantial evidence of his composure and talent.

He offers engaging company but is also different to most modern rugby players. After admitting it would be “the stuff of dreams” to play against the All Blacks, and perhaps score a try in Dunedin or Auckland, the medical student moves on to a weighty subject. He is certainly the first sportsman I’ve interviewed who might specialise in plastic surgery to help burns victims or patients born with a cleft palate.

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Sale centre reflects on highs and lows as he prepares to bring down curtain on Premiership career with move to France

Manu Tuilagi arrived in the United Kingdom for what he initially believed was a short break to visit his brothers but now, 20 years later and with more than a whiff of a northern twang in his voice, that extended holiday in this part of the world is finally drawing to a close.

When Tuilagi’s parents returned to Samoa, a 12-year-old Manu opted to remain with his siblings. The boy who walked through the door at Rumney RFC to fill time while his brother Freddie was playing for the then Cardiff Blues, leaves the UK as one of the greats of English rugby over the past decade and more. It has been some journey, one with high and low points plus a moment or two of controversy to boot.

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• RFU to decide if Saracens forward will be charged
• Boost for Saracens’ run-in as Maro Itoje avoids ban

Billy Vunipola’s fate lies in the hands of the Rugby Football Union after escaping disciplinary action by Saracens following his drunken arrest in Majorca last weekend.

The RFU will now wait to receive details of Saracens’ completed investigation before deciding whether to charge Vunipola. The union has the power to intervene and punish “any conduct which is prejudicial to the interests of the union or the game” and has done so before in similar circumstances.

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• Steve Borthwick can allocate 25 contracts worth £150,000 a year
• Saracens chief says stalemate may impact club’s recruitment

Leading English clubs are urging the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to accelerate their plans to introduce hybrid central contracts for a limited number of key men’s international players. Saracens are one of several sides keen to know exactly how many of their squad will be offered deals and precisely how the new system will operate.

Sarries’ director of rugby, Mark McCall, who works closely with a number of England players including the national captain Jamie George and the lock Maro Itoje, is hoping the situation will be clarified sooner rather than later. “It’s pretty important that it gets sorted as quickly as possible,” said McCall, suggesting his star players had still not seen their final contracts.

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