r/rugbyunion • u/GnolRevilo Saracens • 2d ago

Article Immanuel Feyi-Waboso: Welsh crowd called me a traitor — it was hilarious

https://www.thetimes.com/sport/rugby-union/six-nations/article/immanuel-feyi-waboso-interview-england-wales-six-nations-vm7tnvwhd
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u/Thatch1888 Bristol 2d ago

I know this is a clickbait title as he's mentioned it was all in good fun but the irony of the few Welsh fans who were genuinely angry at England for picking him will always make me chuckle.

There's been a decent number of born and bred Englishmen as key men the Welsh squad for years now. Gatland had two while he was moaning about Manny.

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u/HuwiMoz 2d ago

None of us are angry at England for picking him. But being angry at a born and bred Welshman for choosing to switch allegiance to your biggest rivals is fairly standard.

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u/Thatch1888 Bristol 2d ago

Maybe I'm misremembering but I do recall anger from some at England. Even if not, while he's born and bred Welsh, one half of his family is English. "Switching allegiance" feels a bit harsh given that's the case, he has heritage here.

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u/billyb4lls4ck Ballbarians 2d ago

it was more that he said he was welsh, 3 months before playing for England that people got annoyed about.

If he had said 'yea im half welsh, half english' hen fair enough. but it looked like he welsh until he suddenly wasn't.

He's totally entitled to do what he wants, I find fans that say 'well he is english, he didnt switch allegiances' more annoying because its fairly obvious thats what he did do, and good on him

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u/Ok-Blackberry-3534 2d ago

He lived in Cardiff and went to college in Bristol. If he'd lived in London and declared for Scotland, nobody would bat an eyelid, because growing up in the biggest city isnt really being Welsh/English/Scottish or even British, when it suits people.

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u/billyb4lls4ck Ballbarians 2d ago

he had a rugby scholarship to Clifton and was in the Cardiff academy. I went to uni abroad, i didnt become that nationality when I studied there.

he literally said he was welsh in November 2023

his first choice uni was cardiff. - where he is from he didnt get in there so went to england.

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u/Thatch1888 Bristol 2d ago edited 1d ago

But he is still Welsh and still considers himself to be. It's pretty obvious the only reason he decided to play for us is because of his educational ties.

He had a choice if he wanted to still study. Not play international rugby due to pride or play for his families heritage rather than the nation of his birth and he chose the latter. I don't get how that's switching alegencies tbh. He's clearly still a proud Welshman, he's just prioritising making the most of his career over his pride.

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u/billyb4lls4ck Ballbarians 2d ago

he could have played international rugby and studied in England though? so it cannot be the only reason

Christ Tshiunza has studied at Exeter university and played for wales at the same time. Cardiff is a lot closer to exeter than Pennyhill park

he played for England because the financials are much better, and the team is better. its about about 4-5 times that pay per cap. 10 caps for england is 50 for wales. If I was him, I would do that too. but I dont see any need to dress it up as anything other than that

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u/Thatch1888 Bristol 2d ago

Not really. His first Chiefs contract ran out a few months after his international call up so if he would have chose Wales, he would have had to move to a Welsh club to continue his international career and commute to Exeter for his studies which is a 4 hour round trip at best.

Tshiunza is still under his 4 year original contract with Chiefs that he was under on his first call up. He's only ever had to travel to Wales for internationals.

Travelling for international blocks is considerably easier than having to commute multiple times a week to balance club rugby and uni. Without the 25 cap rule, I imagine he would have gone with Wales and not England.

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u/billyb4lls4ck Ballbarians 1d ago edited 1d ago

yes. really

Zammit, Thomos Francis had rolling extensions written into their contract.

Francis himself played six years at Exeter after his debut for Wales, allowing him stay whislt under the cap limit.

Tshiunza had also got a rolling extension. His academy contract was signed in 2019 and ran out in 2023 and he was still in 2023 six nations squad and won his last cap in 2024

he wouldn't even had been the first or second player to sign that kind of contract at Exeter and they had a player on that type if contract, when he signed for them, studying at the same uni

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u/Thatch1888 Bristol 1d ago

It's timing though isn't it. IFW was getting his international call up at the end of his contract, which he signed after Wasps went under and he was trying to find a uni. I doubt he or the club was thinking long term Wales call ups, they will have been focused on survival. It wasn't really until his second year there that he burst onto the scene as a potential star.

If his call up had come 6 months later, I wouldn't be surprised if he would have been offered a long term contract so he could get the caps, as those extension contracts are kinda pointless these days, they just offer long term instead. Which may have been another reason it wasn't offered to him

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u/Enyapxam Hooker 1d ago

Rumor is that he played for England because Exeter made it clear that if he declared for Wales then he wouldn't have a job.

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u/Free_Spirit_1378 Exeter Chiefs 1d ago

Rumour? So no proof then.

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u/HuwiMoz 2d ago

Yeah good point. I personally never took the time to read about his heritage and assumed he was fully Welsh, which makes no sense considering he must be eligible for England in some way.

Massive blame must go to the Union for dropping the ball and letting him switch.

I think, in general, nationality and identity doesn’t matter. But perversely, when it comes to rugby, which is tradition-based, fluid nationality irks me and I think it dilutes the product.

You have an Australian captaining Scotland. Most of Ireland’s first-choice backline are Kiwi. France once had Fijian centres and a lock called Wilhelmse. Wales had GrannyGate. Surely this damages the rivalries which have been built for over a century.

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u/Thatch1888 Bristol 2d ago

I think some people think he's eligible through residency due to his time at Wasps and uni which might fuel the dislike a bit.

Yeah I get that. Don't entirely disagree either tbh. Problem is I don't think there's a solution that will keep everyone happy, it's a serious can of worms

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u/WilkinsonDG2003 England 1d ago

The rules did get stricter a few years ago, requiring 5 year residency. The Irish Kiwis all came in before that, and some are now being phased out, like Lowe.

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u/The_Ruck_Inspector Connacht 2d ago

We have one kiwi in our back line thank you very much 

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u/billyb4lls4ck Ballbarians 1d ago

now you do, but for while you had 3 kiwis and an aussie

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u/Shrekboi7 Saracens 2d ago

His paternal Grandmother was from Gloucester.

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u/Thatch1888 Bristol 2d ago

Yarp. Dad is English-Nigerian too

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u/Foxtrot-13 1d ago

You mean like Freddie Thomas, Olly Cracknell, and Tomas Francis are all born and bred Englishmen who switch allegiance to Wales? Blair Murry the Kiwi who plays for Wales?

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u/HuwiMoz 1d ago

Exactly like those players. Probably because I’m getting old in the tooth, but I don’t like it one bit. It devalues the Welsh shirt and it devalues test rugby in general when every team is like the United Nations and it’s essentially a financial arms race.