The four Welsh regions took a breather after the festive derbies, but Wales coach Warren Gatland still took a blow off the field.

Already hit injuries ahead of the forthcoming Six Nations, Gatland looks like being unable to add the raw firepower of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to his squad.

It’s been reported that Cardiff-born Feyi-Waboso has turned down an approach to play for Wales and instead, the Exeter Chiefs wing plans to choose England.

The 21-year-old wing has been in scintillating form for Premiership team Exeter this season after joining from Wasps when the club went into administration in 2022.

Before that Feyi-Waboso played his rugby for Cardiff but was forced to leave after failing to secure a place at Cardiff University to begin his medical studies.

Working against Wales was the rule that does not allow a player to ply their trade outside of the country unless they have featured for the team 25 times or more.

That would have meant that a Six Nations appearance this year would lead to Fey-Waboso having to join a Welsh region for 2024/25 in order to continue his international career.

That, coupled by his medical studies in Exeter, has reportedly contributed to the wing’s eventual decision to pick England over Wales in what is a major boost to the former.

Feyi-Waboso will hope to impress at the upcoming camp and force his way into Steve Borthwick’s squad for the Six Nations, with the Red Rose kicking off against Italy away.

His club boss, Rob Baxter, was full of praise for the youngster after he put in a man-of-the-match shift against Bristol and backed that up on Saturday against Northampton.

“All he has got to do is play rugby and get experience, and the world is his oyster then,” he said recently.

“His rugby career will be what he chooses it to be. The opportunities are going to be there for him if he works hard at his game.

“The reality is he will need to stay relatively injury-free for periods, he will need to get a decent amount of game-time for periods, he will need to balance his studying with his rugby programme as he goes along and not get burnt out by one or the other, so there is a long way to go.”

 

Rhys Is Ready

But as one door closes for Gatland, another could be about to open.

Former Ireland captain Rhys Ruddock is ready to re-ignite his international career – by dramatically switching to Wales.

Ruddock has won 27 caps for Ireland, but the last of those was earned almost three years ago against France.

The Leinster back row forward was born in Dublin, but could become the first player to be capped by both countries in February under changes in the rules brought in two years ago.

His father, former Grand Slam-winning Wales coach Mike Ruddock, said: “It’s not for me to tell Wales who to select, but purely as a father I would love to see him pull on a red jersey.

“It’s where he grew up as a rugby player, he played for Wales U18s before his life took a different turn and I’m sure he would add a huge amount of experience and leadership qualities to that squad.

“I think a lot of people would love to see him back playing his rugby in Wales again.”

Those updated rules allow capped players to play for a different country, provided three years have elapsed since their last Test and they tick all the regular boxes.

Ruddock’s eligibility for the majority of the upcoming Six Nations will be of major interest to Wales coach Warren Gatland, who is without injured back rowers Taulupe Faletau, Jac Morgan and Christ Tshiunza.

The 33-year-old – who has a Welsh-born father and grandparents – will be available to Gatland from February 14, three years after he last played for Ireland.

That would make him an option for the final three matches of the tournament, ironically starting with the clash against Ireland in Dublin on February 24.

Wales then have home games against France and Italy to finish the championship before a summer tour to Australia.

Lions star Faletau has not played since the World Cup in October, when he broke his arm, while Morgan has recently undergone knee surgery and Tshiunza has a broken foot.

That leaves Gatland short of know-how, size, power and a winning mentality – all of which Ruddock has in abundance after a decade playing for Leinster and Ireland.

Most of the leading nations have made use of the revised eligibility rules in recent years, including Wales who capped Henry Thomas last year nine years after he played for England.