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Steve Borthwick hits back in Exeter row over Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
By Liam Heagney
England boss Steve Borthwick has described as “unfair” the criticism from Exeter regarding the RFU’s handling of the Immanuel Feyi-Waboso injury situation. The young international winger was only recently sent for an operation on the shoulder injury suffered on club duty on December 21 away to Sale, a delay that has vexed Chiefs boss Rob Baxter.
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Speaking on Wednesday morning ahead of Exeter’s Premiership Rugby Cup quarter-final this Saturday against the Sharks, director of rugby Baxter alleged: “There is clearly some things that are not quite aligned, particularly at the start of the process.”
This allegation later generated a stern rebuke from England boss Borthwick after a 29-strong training squad had assembled in York to begin preparations for the March 9 Guinness Six Nations clash with Italy in London.
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In an RFU statement, Borthwick insisted: “Player welfare is our top priority. England Rugby has a world-class medical team that cares deeply about the players they look after. We are lucky to have, without doubt, some of the hardest-working and most compassionate individuals I have had the privilege of working with.
“England medics in fact maintained regular communication with Exeter regarding Immanuel Feyi-Waboso immediately after his injury, through the Christmas period and further into the new year.
“As you would expect, this is all documented. It would therefore be unfair to question their work ethic, or the level of care provided to the player. We would have loved to have had Manny with us during this campaign, and we are eager to see him back on the field as soon possible.”
The delay in the decision for Feyi-Waboso to undergo surgery will likely rule him out of selection for the British and Irish Lions as he will have had limited or no minutes on the pitch for his club by the time that Andy Farrell announces the tour squad for Australia.
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The 22-year-old Feyi-Waboso was one of 17 players awarded an enhanced RFU EPS contract by Borthwick last October, terms that have given England the final say on all medical and sports science matters regarding the Exeter winger.
Outlining his disappointment that Feyi-Waboso was enduring a longer than planned stint on the sidelines in a season where Exeter’s last regular-season Premiership match is scheduled for May 18, Baxter said: “I met Steve and Conor (O’Shea, the RFU high performance boss) a few weeks ago and look, there is clearly some things that are not quite aligned, particularly at the start of the process, and let’s discuss this post the Six Nations, not mid-Six Nations.
“Let’s sit down and see if there are things we can tick off and learn from and get ready. You know, at the end of the day, there was always going to be some teething issues, wasn’t there? Because initially, however you want to look at it, it has probably caught England a bit by surprise as well.
“It is important for that whole structure between all the clubs and the RFU that you do all get together and everyone just takes a deep breath and go, right, we have got to learn.
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“We have got to tweak these things, we have got to finesse this and be all grown up enough to admit where there might be errors here, there, everywhere and just get it sorted basically because it is in everyone’s interests, you know.”
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