The rise of 'Super Manny'
England’s exciting young winger has made a spectacular start to his Test career. By Robert Kitson, rugby correspondent of the Guardian
Some compliments are properly flattering. A few of us have been saying for a while that Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is a major talent but the other day the 21-year-old received the ultimate accolade. When the great Antoine Dupont, modern rugby’s biggest shooting star, nominates Feyi-Waboso as his favourite England player you know the England winger must be doing something right.
It’s particularly true when you consider how steep Feyi-Waboso’s ascent has been. Just 19 months ago he was still playing on loan at Taunton Titans in National One. Now he is being name checked by one of rugby’s greatest. In six Tests for England he has already collected four tries; while his club Exeter Chiefs had a rocky start to the season their winger scored five tries in the league’s opening five rounds.
‘Super Manny’s’ spectacular rise – please forgive the brief indulgence – is a particular source of amusement in our house. When our younger son returned from university last year hoping to regain his previous starting role in the mighty Titans’ starting XV, guess who had nicked his place? At least Kitson Jnr was lucky enough to have trained briefly alongside a soaring comet who, all being well, will be lighting up Allianz Stadium for years to come.
The All Blacks also now know Feyi-Waboso is a man to watch after he scored a try in both Tests against them this summer, in addition to the one he scored against Japan in Tokyo. His Exeter colleague Henry Slade had predicted before the tour that he would surprise a few people. “That guy is one of the most freakishly gifted athletes I’ve ever seen,” Slade told us back in June. “People who have never played against him probably underestimate him. If he gets on the pitch, I reckon he’ll give them a shock.”
All this, furthermore, while continuing his medical studies at Exeter University, with the possible long-term aim of becoming a plastic surgeon and helping burns victims or patients born with a cleft palate. Feyi-Waboso is a decent pianist, too, in addition to being well-mannered, engaging company. To say England owe a vote of thanks to the University of Cardiff, who rejected the player’s initial application to study medicine in the city of his birth and thus triggered his move to England, is an understatement.
Feyi-Waboso has had to display some inner steel, though. After moving to Aston University to study medicine, the financial collapse of Wasps forced him to relocate again. On this occasion, Exeter’s Rob Baxter was never going to let him slip away. “He had that Jack Nowell-type ability to break a tackle and make yards but with more pace and probably a bit more natural athletic ability,” said Baxter. “That kind of stuff is like gold dust. The exciting thing about him is that, as an actual rugby player, he is just scratching the surface. His ability on the ball is so big the world is his oyster.”
Even now Feyi-Waboso has barely played 30 career games for the Chiefs and freely admits he is still learning his trade. It makes it all the more remarkable, then, that he has adapted so swiftly to the highest level. Sitting on England’s bench prior to his debut in Rome last February, even he was not quite sure what to expect. “I was taking it all in and thinking: ‘I can’t believe I’m here.’”
His first Test try arrived soon enough. His smart late score against Scotland at Murrayfield also revealed a player not inclined to stand around waiting for stuff to happen, even if it felt like a surreal out-of-body experience. “The stadium was so quiet… it didn’t feel real. I remember diving down and thinking: ‘Did I even score?’”
There followed his first start in England’s gripping 23-22 win over Ireland, the national side’s last appearance at Twickenham prior to its summer Allianz Stadium renaming. With Tommy Freeman shifting over to the left wing, Feyi-Waboso made nine carries for 70 metres and was conspicuous by his enforced concussion-related absence for the following fixture against France.
By then, though, England’s head coach Steve Borthwick already knew he had unearthed an athletic gem with a steady temperament to match. “I sense he’s a guy who takes things in his stride,” said Borthwick. “He’s a really calm and composed character. Each challenge that has been thrown towards him, he’s risen to that level. After I told him he was starting against Ireland, he thanked me numerous times then asked: ‘What do you want from me?’ My message was: ‘I want you to get the ball in your hands as many times as possible.’”
Which, for all wingers, is the sweetest of mission statements. England have any number of talented contenders out wide but, fitness permitting, there must be a pretty decent chance of Feyi-Waboso being on Andy Farrell’s wish list for next year’s British & Irish Lions tour squad in Australia. If it does happen, it will be a dream come true for a young lad who grew up in Wales and played his first rugby for his local club Rumney. “I’d love to play for the Lions,” he confirmed to the Guardian earlier this year. “That’s every rugby player’s dream in the northern hemisphere. It would be amazing and unbelievable but there are so many good wingers out there.”
Either way, his family must already be bursting with pride. His father, Andrew, is from Nigerian and English parentage – Feyi-Waboso’s grandmother lives in Cheltenham – and works as a consultant ophthalmologist. Feyi-Waboso’s mother, who died when he was young, was half-Nigerian and half-Jamaican; as well as a brother, a sister and several step-siblings he also has extended family living in London and the United States.
They, along with everybody else, are now just waiting to discover what else he might conceivably achieve. New Zealand have some electric backline talents of their own but ‘Super Manny’ has shown few signs of being overawed in distinguished company. “There’s this huge thing about the All Blacks; people think they’re the best team in the world, they’re rugby gods,” he told Rugby Journal recently. “Don’t get me wrong, they’re really good, an amazing team – and they beat us – but it always felt like we could win the game.”
This autumn will be a serious test on multiple fronts. New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan on successive weekends is no-one’s idea of a relaxing November and Feyi-Waboso will be facing opponents with significantly more experience. He is no longer the secret weapon he was last season and the southern hemisphere’s sharpest video analysts will not have been sitting idle.
Then again, as Baxter has already made clear, Feyi-Waboso still has loads of improvement in him. Among his next goals is to score his first Test try at Allianz Stadium and back up Dupont’s effusive praise. “That was really cool. One of the boys sent it to me and I was like ‘Oh my days.’ I didn’t expect him to know who I was. When I played against him in Toulouse for Exeter I didn’t even play well. But it’s nice when one of the best players in the world notices you, isn’t it?”
If the brilliant Dupont enjoys watching you play, your future really is bright.
