Will Joseph poised to audition for leading role against Japan in Feyi-Waboso’s absence

England need to find a talented understudy for their injured star winger Manny Feyi-Waboso and are poised to invite Gloucester’s Will Joseph to audition for a leading role against Japan on Saturday. The latter was a travelling reserve for last weekend’s Australia game and appears set for a Test recall four years after being given his debut by the current Brave Blossoms coach Eddie Jones.

The 24-year-old Joseph, whose brother Jonathan was a regular in England’s midfield for years, has been in outstanding club form and, as things stand, seems likely to feature in some capacity with injuries forcing Steve Borthwick to reconsider the backline blend that prospered against the Wallabies.

With Feyi-Waboso, Seb Atkinson and George Furbank all sidelined this weekend, a number of spaces need filling in the matchday 23 and England’s assistant coach Kevin Sinfield believes Joseph, who can operate at both centre and wing, has the talent to seize any opportunity that comes his way. “What a player he is,” said Sinfield, who was knighted earlier this year for his contributions to rugby and Motor Neurone Disease charity fundraising.

“I’ve been really impressed with him in training … having only worked with Will for a little while he’s made a huge mark on everybody. He beats people, he’s got great balance and he’s a good defender with unbelievable power and speed off the mark. He’s a good jackaller, he breaks the line … he’s a special player. Some of the bits he’s done in training have been ‘Wow’ moments. He can play.”

Joseph’s only previous cap came in the closing minutes of England’s Test victory against the Wallabies in Brisbane in 2022 when he was a 20-year-old apprentice and Jones was the head coach. The scintillating try he scored for Gloucester at Exeter earlier this season, however, was a striking reminder of his talent and he has also been impressing his teammate Alex Coles on Bagshot’s training pitch. “He rounded someone on the wing in five metres of space and even Henry Pollock, who was on the defensive side against him, celebrated his try because it was that good,” Coles revealed.

There are plenty of other back-three contenders lurking in England’s squad, including Cadan Murley, Joe Marchant, Noah Caluori and Tobias Elliott, but Joseph’s positional versatility could also boost his cause when it comes to picking a final World Cup squad next year.

That said the uber-talented Feyi-Waboso remains England’s most lethal attacking weapon, with Sinfield describing his performance against Australia, before he came off with an ankle injury at half-time, as “world class”. “He’s our Jason Robinson,” said Sinfield, referencing his fellow cross-code legend.

“He’s frustrated but what a last game it was for him. We can’t ask somebody to come in and play like Manny, but we can ask them to come in and bring the best of themselves. That’s what we’ll be doing this week. We would like whoever comes in to play with a lot of courage, back themselves and, when they’re put in space, to try and take the opportunities that they’re given.”

In the longer term England are already looking at how they can best ensure Feyi-Waboso and Tom Curry, whose hip problems have resurfaced, are in prime nick when the 2027 World Cup comes around. It raises the possibility that the Rugby Football Union, under the terms of their agreement with the Prem clubs, may seek to limit the amount of rugby that the pair play this season for their respective clubs Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks. “The agreement that’s in place will hopefully ensure brilliant collaboration between club and country,” said Sinfield.

“What you tend to find is players either get a load of injuries at the start of their careers or get them towards the back end. Hopefully we’ve had a good run with Manny now and that can be the last one for some time. We can then get him fully fit for a long period of time and Exeter get to see the best of him, too. Again, the collaboration [with the clubs] is going to be really important for us.”