Exeter Chiefs have won the race to sign Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, the gifted youngster who has been touted as a Wales international in the making.
The 19-year-old Cardiff rugby product joined Wasps at the end of last season after starting a course in medicine at Aston University. But with the companies controlling the men’s sides at Wasps heading into administration last month, the club’s entire playing and coaching staff were made redundant as part of 167 job losses.
Four other English clubs were said to be chasing Feyi-Waboso, about whom word spread quickly after a bright start to his time on the eastern side of the River Severn, with Exeter coming out on top in the scramble for his services.
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The former English champions have also snapped up Feyi-Waboso’s fellow former Wasps academy team-mates Alfie Bell and Greg Fisilau, with Sandy Park director of rugby Rob Baxter feeling he has recruited three talented players, likening Waboso’s situation to that of Tom O’Flaherty, who played for Bridgend and for the Ospreys before heading down to Exeter.
“Manny has played in their Premiership Cup games on the wing and done very well,” said Baxter. “He’s a bit like Tom O’Flaherty in that he was playing in Wales, but then transferred to Aston University and got picked up by Wasps. Already he looks to me as though he’s going very well, he looks good in training and that he could easily be thrown into a match-day 23 at any stage.”
The Chiefs have secured a player who is quick, strong and boasts an eye for a gap and who initially made strides under Cardiff development boss Gruff Rees, a man viewed as one of the most accomplished nurturers of young talent in Wales. Rees classed the youngster who grew up in Llandaff as “something pretty special” and a potential Wales international of the future.
It didn't take long for Feyi-Waboso to serve notice of his quality in England as he conjured a man-of-the-match display in the Premiership Cup clash against Newcastle Falcons, with a spectacular try assist seeing him receive the ball on halfway, weave in and out through the opposition defence and then improbably manage a one-handed offload as he fell. All that remained for team-mate Harry Craven was to skip in for the score .
There was also some excellent defensive work from Feyi-Waboso, none of which would have surprised anyone at Cardiff. The club fought desperately hard to keep Feyi-Waboso and the player had seemed keen to continue his progress at the Arms Park after making his senior debut as a 17-year-old against the Ospreys in the Rainbow Cup in 2021.
But it wasn’t to be, with the teenager failing to secure a place at Cardiff University to study medicine, despite achieving the three A* grades he required while at Clifton College in Bristol, having been on the reserve list. The ex-Wales U18s three-quarter ended up taking a place to study his chosen subject at Aston University in Birmingham instead, subsequently linking with the senior Wasps academy.
He started his rugby journey with Rumney RFC, progressing through Cardiff Schools and Cardiff Rugby’s age-grade sides. The former Corpus Christi and Clifton College pupil also excelled at athletics and particularly hurdles and high jump.
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Baxter added: “Once things started happening as it did at Worcester and Wasps, the players we actually started looking at first were the young guys for obvious reasons. I’ve made it clear a few times now, I want to find guys who have not won anything and I want to find that next group whose sole focus is winning.
“I want a group that enjoy being on a journey that takes them to winning Premiership titles, winning European Cups or becoming international players. I don’t mind saying it, Wasps have a very talented group of players there — they have done fantastically well bringing them through to where they are now — and for me, it was the most exciting thing about looking at the players becoming available.”
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