Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is English rugby’s favourite paradox: a wing with genuine Test gas who is simultaneously completing a medical degree, scoring international tries between exam sittings. The Exeter Chiefs flyer chose England over Wales — he was born and raised in Cardiff — and the tug-of-war that decision triggered made him a headline before his pace made him a highlight.

The rugby case is simple: Feyi-Waboso is among the quickest players in the country over both ten metres and sixty, and he breaks tackles at a rate unusual for his size because he arrives at contact still accelerating. His finishing instinct — inside support lines, the dive timed late, the touchline squeeze — looks veteran despite his youth, and England capped him early precisely because traits like his cannot be coached into existence later.

His story is the more interesting layer. Medicine is not a hobby; he has organised club moves and international availability around clinical placements, and England camps have had to schedule around a student doctor’s timetable. In an era of manufactured athlete branding, a wing who misses training because of hospital rounds is the rarest kind of authentic, and it is a large part of why his search profile skews beyond core rugby fans.

Concussion setbacks have punctuated his rise and are the caveat in every projection — England have managed his return protocols conservatively. With the 2027 Rugby World Cup cycle under way and England’s back three the deepest area of a squad otherwise under repair after a fifth-place Six Nations, his ceiling remains the highest of the group.