England boosted with Feyi-Waboso on track for next Nations Championship Test

England’s game-breaking winger Manny Feyi-Waboso should be fit for international duty next month despite tweaking a hamstring playing for Exeter against Newcastle on Sunday. Initial scans have not revealed any major damage and Rob Baxter, the Chiefs’ director of rugby, is hopeful the 23-year-old will be back in action before too long.

Medical staff from Exeter and England have been poring over Feyi-Waboso’s scan and the player will be unavailable for his club’s opening Champions Cup pool fixture at Toulouse this weekend. The early indications are said to be positive, however, and he is on track to feature in England’s opening Nations Championship Test against Australia early next month.

“He’s had a scan and there’s nothing I’m hearing from our physios saying there should be a long-term issue,” said Baxter.

The injury management of Feyi-Waboso, as a centrally-contracted England player, became a hot topic early last year when a proposed shoulder operation ended up being delayed and a subsequent recurrence ended up sidelining the exciting wing for the rest of the season.

This time Baxter is hoping for a much improved outcome for all concerned “We’re in a delicate period for both parties,” said Baxter. “We’re desperate for Manny to play because we’ve got some important games and England want him to feature in the autumn.

“An England physio was in yesterday to assess Manny. There’s always two sides to every injury: what something looks on a scan and how the player is reporting it and moving around. Sometimes they can be very different.

“On the basis of the conversations I’ve had with my medics, there may not need to be too much intervention. He’ll have a break this week but it’s a different conversation if he’s still feeling it next Monday.”

Feyi-Waboso has scored nine tries for England since making his debut in the 2024 Six Nations but has also had to deal with a series of unfortunate injuries. He played in last season’s Prem final with a plate in his jaw but was still able to contribute a scintillating try in England’s victory over Argentina in Santiago del Estero in July. He also further underlined his attacking ability with two tries against Bath earlier this month.

Ellis Genge and Courtney Lawes have called for the restriction on England picking overseas-based players to be lifted. The former England captains believe that internationals who have accumulated a certain number of caps should still be available for selection even if they are competing for clubs in France.

Genge captained England as recently as last autumn and remains a mainstay of their front row while Lawes, who has 105 caps, recently returned from a two-year spell in the Top 14 and is back on Borthwick’s radar for next month’s Nations Championship.

“I know in Wales they do the 25-cap thing,” Lawes told The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast, referencing the scope for Wales to select anyone based outside the country if they have made 25 or more international appearances. “It’s not a terrible idea because then you can keep your young players if they want to be part of the England team and once they’ve cut their teeth and earned their stripes, you’ve got the opportunity to go elsewhere and still play for your country. I think that might not be a terrible compromise.”

Genge revealed that he has spoken to the RFU chief executive, Bill Sweeney, about a contentious rule that has attracted widespread criticism but has yet to be convinced over why it is necessary.

The British & Irish Lions prop, who has 83 caps, has played all of his club rugby at Leicester and Bristol but uses the example of footballers Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane to illustrate why a move overseas can be beneficial.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say: ‘You aren’t allowed to do it’,” Genge said. “It’s a sick experience and the stuff that comes with it is incredible as well. If you look at football, Jude Bellingham going over to the other leagues – look how much better he got – and Harry Kane, the captain of the country now playing in Germany – experience of different leagues brings out the best in players.

“I don’t think you can just put people into a box and say: ‘No, you must do this because we want the product to be better, ultimately’. I sort of agree with what ‘Courts’ [Lawes] has said. If you had a cap rule where you do, say 50 or 60 caps, so if you’re involved in the English international game and you have 60 caps and then you go to France.”

Meanwhile, The British & Irish Lions women’s team ⁠will play their first match in August next year ⁠when they host ⁠France ​at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The Lions will face the six-times Women’s Six Nations champions on 27 August, before departing ​for their ‌inaugural tour to ‌New Zealand, which begins on 4 September.