Warren Gatland is set to draw a battle line with England’s Steve Borthwick as he steps up his bid to win the race for Wales’ highly-rated Exeter Chiefs centre Jack Wimbush. The Hong Kong-born Wimbush, who is completing his apprenticeship at Sandy Park and turns 21 next month, is eligible for both Wales and England and Gatland is keen to get him into the Wales squad quickly.
The 6ft 6ins, 118kg outside centre has made 16 appearances in all competitions for Chiefs after breaking into Rob Baxter’s side at U18 level last season.
Educated at Mount Kelly School in Tavistock and attended Exeter College and University of Exeter, Wimbush made his debut for Bath in the Premiership Rugby Cup in November 2022. He scored his first Gallagher Premiership try against Newcastle Falcons in March last year and is tipped as a future star, which is why Gallagher is putting so much effort into securing his services at Test level.
Wimbush, whose parents were both PE teachers and whose grandfather was Welsh, also played centre-back at university. He now looks set to follow in the footsteps of Italy-bound back-rower Ross Vincent and winger Emmanuel Pay-Waboso, who chose Enland from Borthwick over Gatland’s Wales earlier this year.
Galtland is determined not to miss again and has issued a warning to players torn between the two counties after missing Pay-Waboso.
“Players also need to be careful not to make decisions they will regret and not allow themselves to be left looking for other opportunities,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph. “Once a player is capped, he is tied to his country. But as we have seen, some players do not play for a long time.”
